Princess vs Celebrity

[MicCanberra]

Any offerings on your reviews between the two companies and there ships. Both are to be a step up from there respective other. Carnival vs RCCL.

My wife and I place them in this order. Lowest to the best. Carnival, RCCL, Princess, Celebrity.

I would agree with that assessment.

[KKB]

Our first cruise was on Princess; we have done 5, the last in 2008.

We have cruised Celebrity 4x--our last 4 cruises!

 

Why? VALUE--we have gotten better cabins & perks (DRINK PACKAGE) for less than we would on other lines. We are getting balconies with a drink package thrown in for what we would pay for an interior plus a drink package on Princess.

 

DH & I both feel Celebrity is a small tick above Princess & RCCL in quality. Small, but we feel it.

 

Food? Well, we had Aqua 1st cruise & did the dining package last cruise, so we have only done MDR once but we very much enjoyed our meals. With only Tuscan Grill, Murano & Silk Harvest on Equinox, we won't be doing the dining package--we loved Qsine & Lawn Club; found T. Grill & Murano to be excellent but too rich & filling for more than 1 meal/cruise & DH isn't a fan of Asian food). We will be doing MDR this time.

 

HONESTLY having cruised Princess, Celebrity, RCCL & DCL, we find the lines to be far more alike than different. Princess is our fav line & Allure our fav ship. We like LOTS of activities to choose from & Princess & the Allure gave us that. In that way, we, too, miss Princess when cruising Celebrity; but I'm guessing we would seriously miss a balcony essentially at interior pricing if we were to cruise Princess again! But I love a good deal!

[lx200gps]

They are very similar but it's funny, when we're on Princess, we think of how Celebrity does something better. When we're on Celebrity, we miss Princess. I wouldn't rank Celebrity above Princess at all. Their ships are beautiful, but Princess' ships are too. Celebrity has more of a class-system and people on their ships tend to really get "into" their status more than they do on Princess. IMO, those on Princess are happy to be there and don't care if their newly-met friends are in an inside cabin or a suite.

 

Very interesting comment, and we noticed it as well, on our one and only Celebrity trip to date. Not only did we notice it during the trip, I first became aware of it by noting the tone of many posts here on CC, in the Celebrity forum. There really did seem to be more self-entitled people posting than I ever see here on the Princess forum and I found the tone, at the time, quite acrimonious. Haven't been back since. Happy to be planning our next 5 Princess trips :D

[bighairtexan]

Very interesting comment, and we noticed it as well, on our one and only Celebrity trip to date. Not only did we notice it during the trip, I first became aware of it by noting the tone of many posts here on CC, in the Celebrity forum. There really did seem to be more self-entitled people posting than I ever see here on the Princess forum and I found the tone, at the time, quite acrimonious. Haven't been back since. Happy to be planning our next 5 Princess trips :D

 

Celebrity is my cruise line of choice but I cruise on several lines. Currently my next 3 cruises booked are: Celebrity, RCI and Princess. However even though I prefer the X cruise experience I have to agree w/ the above re: the tone of the Celebrity forums SOMETIMES being snarky vs a more "civilized" tone here on the Princess boards. I always think "People, we're privileged to be able to CRUISE! Lighten up. Opinions can vary w/o being hostile, well...... one would hope."

[cruisequeen4ever]

I’ve been on 1 Celebrity cruise and am Elite with Princess. We hands down prefer Princess. On Celebrity, it seems like you can get an outstanding product if you book a suite but not otherwise, whereas Princess treats everyone specially. The food was mediocre on Celebrity; Princess’s food is fabulous. The ships and staterooms are comparable. The crew is much more professional on Princess. There’s far less selling on Princess. We literally had a Celebrity bartender yell after us and chase us across the deck trying to convince us to buy the drinks package after we had already declined it. I would consider Celebrity if it offered that perfect itinerary, but I am certainly not seeking any opportunities to sail with them.

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

Very interesting comment, and we noticed it as well, on our one and only Celebrity trip to date. Not only did we notice it during the trip, I first became aware of it by noting the tone of many posts here on CC, in the Celebrity forum. There really did seem to be more self-entitled people posting than I ever see here on the Princess forum and I found the tone, at the time, quite acrimonious. Haven't been back since. Happy to be planning our next 5 Princess trips :D

I have seen this on both lines and I really think it depends on where you are with the status with that line. I.e if low status on a line when you have high status on another, you tend to notice all the little things you are now missing out on and others may be getting. I always say that status is not a symbol for class but wealth. It is quite simple really, if I see someone lording it over others using their status, I avoid them. In addition, in my experience, cabin category and status has not real correlation, many friends with much higher status than myself, only cruise insides as they get more cruises that way (3 or 4 cruises in an inside compared to 2 in a balcony).

[MicCanberra]

I’ve been on 1 Celebrity cruise and am Elite with Princess. We hands down prefer Princess. On Celebrity, it seems like you can get an outstanding product if you book a suite but not otherwise, whereas Princess treats everyone specially. The food was mediocre on Celebrity; Princess’s food is fabulous. The ships and staterooms are comparable. The crew is much more professional on Princess. There’s far less selling on Princess. We literally had a Celebrity bartender yell after us and chase us across the deck trying to convince us to buy the drinks package after we had already declined it. I would consider Celebrity if it offered that perfect itinerary, but I am certainly not seeking any opportunities to sail with them.

 

 

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I think there is a nice commission to the staff member that sells those drink packages (or the upgrades), and yes you do get a bit sick of people constantly trying to get you to make a purchase. thankfully it stops after the first day.

[lx200gps]

I’ve been on 1 Celebrity cruise and am Elite with Princess. We hands down prefer Princess. On Celebrity, it seems like you can get an outstanding product if you book a suite but not otherwise, whereas Princess treats everyone specially. The food was mediocre on Celebrity; Princess’s food is fabulous. The ships and staterooms are comparable. The crew is much more professional on Princess. There’s far less selling on Princess. We literally had a Celebrity bartender yell after us and chase us across the deck trying to convince us to buy the drinks package after we had already declined it. I would consider Celebrity if it offered that perfect itinerary, but I am certainly not seeking any opportunities to sail with them.

 

 

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This pretty matches our experience on X as well (Silhouette around the Med) We found Blu, the dedicated MDR for Aqua class, pretty comparable to a Princess MDR, but found the "free" food elsewhere on the ship to be not quite as good as on Princess. We only do buffets when absolutely necessary and found the buffet on the Silhouette noticeably worse than on Princess (colder, greasier and heavier). The one area that, to us, Celebrity excels in, and completely blows Princess out of the water for us, is in the depth and breadth of their Specialty dining options. We found that our meals in Murano, Qsine, etc were better than anything we've had in CG, Sabatini's or Share, and our meals in the Tuscan Grill bordered on spectacular, both food and service. We do wish Princess could find some extra room on their ships and add more specialty dining options. Just our opinion, mind you.

[lhsail]

We have been fortunate to sail both a few times in the last couple of years. I find them more similar than different. The food on the Equinox last March was very good. I also think the menus on Celebrity are more creative. Our last few cruises on Princess I have felt the menus are tired and many evenings nothing on the menu excites me. That said, I've never gone hungry.

 

You've got to compare similar ships, which means the Royal and Regal to the Celebrity S Class ships. I like the Royal and Regal a lot, but feel the S Class ships are more elegant. The basic balcony cabins are more spacious on Celebrity. But, I miss the organization of the Princess cabins. We've been moving up to deluxe balconies and mini-suites on Princess as we really like having a love seat or sofa.

 

One big gripe I have with Celebrity is the cost/volume of their drinks. We like our beverages on a cruise, in particular wine. Celebrity pours a skimpy glass of wine for a high price. We've had the beverage package on our last two Celebrity cruises as a perk and I can't imagine sailing Celebrity without it.

 

In terms of entertainment, I don't think there's much difference in the production shows and other entertainment in the theater. There seems to be better pre-dinner options on Princess. The martini bar on the Equinox was extremely crowded every evening. The music was so loud conversation was nearly impossible and bleeded over into other bars. Don't think I'm that old, but I like to be able to converse with my travel companions.

 

We will continue to sail both and enjoy both m

[happy cruzer]

Celebrity has a better always available menu in the dining room that has steak and escargot on it. They also serve the dining room menu via room service at night.

 

Celebrity has less smoking areas onboard.

 

Princess has more pools and they are fresh water.

[jagoffee]

Just as Princess has promotions that come with a perk such as gratuities or alcohol beverage package, Celebrity often has promotions that come with one such perk that is actually included. Sometimes no such perk is included.

 

Following is an example of price differential for Celebrity perks on a 12 day cruise I was on last year.

 

First of all, there were four possible perks (values are for my 12 day cruise):

a) basic beverage package (I do not remember the value)

b) $150 OBC (per person)

c) unlimited Internet (worth $282/person)

d) gratuities (worth $162/person)

 

If you have pricing where one perk is actually included at no additional cost, you can pick any of the four even if it was advertised as having the beverage package.

 

The three add on packages are:

1) Go Big (includes one perk of your choice)

2) Go Bigger (includes two perks of your choice)

3) Go Best (includes all four perks with the beverage package being their higher one instead of the basic package)

 

Pricing (per person) added to the basic cruise fare for my 12 day cruise:

1) Go big with one perk $150.

2) Go bigger with two perks $150+$180=$330

3) Go best with all four perks $150+$180+$360=$690

 

So for two people in a cabin (both must pick the same perks), you would pay $1380 to have all four perks. Celebrity does a good job of marketing, so people say they booked and have all four perks, but may not realize that they definitely paid for them,

 

Picked the $150 OBC? Well, you paid either $150 or $180 for it, depending if it was your first pick or a later pick.

 

Picked the $162 gratuities? Again, you paid either $150 or $180 for them.

 

Picked the unlimited internet worth $282? Also paid either $150 or $180. But do both people really need unlimited Internet on two devices at the same time? If not, you are paying for two people either $300 or $360 for a perk that costs $282 for one device at a time. It should also be noted that members of their loyalty club can get discounts up to 25% or more if purchasing the Internet instead of it being a perk, making it a $211.50 value for a single device.

 

Caribil, a very detailed summary. Unfortunately it is very misleading.

Although on some Celebrity cruises you might be able to book without at least one perk, on most cruises the Big (one perk) is included in the only price available. The perk that has the highest perceived value is the drink package. The retail cost for the Classic package for a 12 day cruise is $779 a person which is by far the highest value of all the perks. The Best package (four perks) also includes the premium upgrade which is another roughly $200. A potential total value for the Premium Drink package of $977 a person. As you can see that by “not remembering the value of the drink package” the comparison is misleading.

 

I agree that although the Internet package is unlimited with all options there is no real need to use more than one device at a time.

 

I cruise on both Celebrity and Princess. When comparing the total price, I usually find Princess Cruises more expensive.

[MicCanberra]

We have been fortunate to sail both a few times in the last couple of years. I find them more similar than different. The food on the Equinox last March was very good. I also think the menus on Celebrity are more creative. Our last few cruises on Princess I have felt the menus are tired and many evenings nothing on the menu excites me. That said, I've never gone hungry.

 

You've got to compare similar ships, which means the Royal and Regal to the Celebrity S Class ships. I like the Royal and Regal a lot, but feel the S Class ships are more elegant. The basic balcony cabins are more spacious on Celebrity. But, I miss the organization of the Princess cabins. We've been moving up to deluxe balconies and mini-suites on Princess as we really like having a love seat or sofa.

 

One big gripe I have with Celebrity is the cost/volume of their drinks. We like our beverages on a cruise, in particular wine. Celebrity pours a skimpy glass of wine for a high price. We've had the beverage package on our last two Celebrity cruises as a perk and I can't imagine sailing Celebrity without it.

 

In terms of entertainment, I don't think there's much difference in the production shows and other entertainment in the theater. There seems to be better pre-dinner options on Princess. The martini bar on the Equinox was extremely crowded every evening. The music was so loud conversation was nearly impossible and bleeded over into other bars. Don't think I'm that old, but I like to be able to converse with my travel companions.

 

We will continue to sail both and enjoy both m

Good post.

[caribill]

 

Although on some Celebrity cruises you might be able to book without at least one perk, on most cruises the Big (one perk) is included in the only price available.

 

As you can see that by “not remembering the value of the drink package” the comparison is misleading.

 

 

I did not leave out the drink package cost to make the comparison misleading. I really had no idea how much it cost at the time of my Celebrity cruise.

 

I also found that although on many cruises the basic pricing includes the Big option, a call to Celebrity can sometimes get you what the lower price is if you do not want that single included perk.

[happy cruzer]

Celebrity has a better always available menu in the dining room that has steak and escargot on it. They also serve the dining room menu via room service at night.

 

Celebrity has less smoking areas onboard.

 

Princess has more pools and they are fresh water.

 

Since lots seem to base their decision on the drinks package, I will add - Celebrity has many options including 2 alcohol packages, you can purchase up until 3 days til the end of the cruise.

 

However for wine drinkers, Princess may be the better option, allowing carryon and pay corkage fee ( Celebrity allows only 2 bottles per cabin). Also we found the wines by the glass which is what is included in the package on Celebrity to be lacking. Princess also has the wine by the bottle package on the longer cruises. If you prefer having wine by the bottle at dinner, Princess has those two good options - carryon and pay corkage to know you have the wine you prefer and purchasing bottles either in the wine package or from the more reasonably priced wine list.

[Tatka]

Princess did have more pools before Royal class was introduced. I love Royal class, but not pools setup.

[lhsail]

Good post.

 

Thank you.

[claytonktyu]

In terms of interior, I would say that Celebrity has a more modern style while Princess is more regal. In terms of food, they are both the same quality.

[ericopia]

I feel like the minority here, but having done two cruises on Celebrity Reflection and one on Ruby Princess, I found my Princess experience to be closer to Royal Caribbean than to Celebrity. The Ruby stateroom felt noticeably smaller than the same category on Reflection (standard balcony), the food was about the same or slightly worse on Ruby (and don't get me started on the terribly small and repetitive buffet offering), and the wines available on Celebrity were far more interesting to us than on Ruby (where only SHARE had a wine list that truly made us smile). Add in things like Celebrity's no-upcharge Solarium, cloth towels in common-area restrooms, and more engaging programming — we were starved for activities on our Ruby cruise; everything seemed geared toward gamblers, big-spend shoppers, line dancers, or bingo players — and we didn't find Princess up to the "premium" experience we thought we were headed into.

 

But, everyone's tastes and preferences are different....

[Tatka]

I love towels readily available on Celebrity as well as padded loungers, but I don't think Solarium on Ruby has a charge. It is only Sanctuary portion that you have to pay for, not Solarium itself.

[MicCanberra]

IMO, Celebrity do a lot of little things that make it a bit classier but I realise that some people do not care for those things. We have status on both lines (Elite) and as such I would say X is ahead on the perks provided as well.

 

In any case, we cruise for Itinerary, timing and cost and will go will either line if they are ahead on these three points.

[ericopia]

I love towels readily available on Celebrity as well as padded loungers, but I don't think Solarium on Ruby has a charge. It is only Sanctuary portion that you have to pay for, not Solarium itself.

 

I don't recall there being an area called Solarium on Ruby, but there was not a covered, climate-controlled pool area on Ruby (which would have been very welcome on our Alaska/Inside Passage itinerary!). That's what I was thinking of when I mentioned the Solarium on Celebrity Reflection. The covered area at the front of Sports Deck 17 was all gated as part of Sanctuary (though the Lotus Spa Pool wasn't gated, it also was open to the very brisk air).

[Tatka]

I don't recall there being an area called Solarium on Ruby, but there was not a covered, climate-controlled pool area on Ruby (which would have been very welcome on our Alaska/Inside Passage itinerary!). That's what I was thinking of when I mentioned the Solarium on Celebrity Reflection. The covered area at the front of Sports Deck 17 was all gated as part of Sanctuary (though the Lotus Spa Pool wasn't gated, it also was open to the very brisk air).

 

 

 

Yes, Princess doesn’t have indoor pools except for newly added Majestic. This is a big considerations for colder climate cruises.

 

What I meant... Solarium isn’t always covered. For example on Royal Caribbean there are ships with covered (Vision, Radiance, Quantum and partially Oasis classes) and open Solariums (Voyager, Freedom classes)

[Tatka]

IMO, Celebrity do a lot of little things that make it a bit classier but I realise that some people do not care for those things. We have status on both lines (Elite) and as such I would say X is ahead on the perks provided as well.

 

In any case, we cruise for Itinerary, timing and cost and will go will either line if they are ahead on these three points.

 

 

 

I think Celebrity is more premium based on pax/ship size ratio. It also used to have outstanding white glove service among all cruiselines. Now it’s not always a case.

We love Celebrity for this.

 

Princess for us wins overall.

 

Unfortunately Princess completely except for Fall sailings and Celebrity almost completely abandoned Northeast, so now it’s much more Royal and NCL and odd Holland and Cunard sailings for us.

[reedprincess]

Yes, Princess doesn’t have indoor pools except for newly added Majestic. This is a big considerations for colder climate cruises.

 

What I meant... Solarium isn’t always covered. For example on Royal Caribbean there are ships with covered (Vision, Radiance, Quantum and partially Oasis classes) and open Solariums (Voyager, Freedom classes)

Correction.

 

Princess has several ships with indoor/covered pools - Island, Coral, Star, Grand, Golden, Diamond, Sapphire and Majestic all have covered pools.. No charge for any of them, loungers, pools, hot tubs, etc.

 

 

Royal class ships have the Enclave which includes a large-ish indoor hydro pool, however this are does have a charge.

[Cruise Junky]

Correction.

 

Princess has several ships with indoor/covered pools - Island, Coral, Star, Grand, Golden, Diamond, Sapphire and Majestic all have covered pools.. No charge for any of them, loungers, pools, hot tubs, etc.

 

 

Royal class ships have the Enclave which includes a large-ish indoor hydro pool, however this are does have a charge.

 

I can’t remember, are the covered pools adult only on Princess? That’s the big draw on Celebrity.