Celebrity versus Princess

[Pickels]

On ‎2‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 11:51 AM, Ferndale Girl said:

I just saw a Celebrity cruise advertised that Princess doesn't offer.  Iceland and Greenland back to back from New Jersey - no flying involved.  We've taken many Princess cruises but never one with Celebrity.  I think I read somewhere that Celebrity isn't as good.  Has anybody that has been on Celebrity have anything good to say about it?  Any comments would be appreciated.

Since 2003, we've cruised NCL, RCL, and the last two on Celebrity, the Silhouette and Equinox.  The cruises on Celebrity were fantastic, cabin, food and service.  We have read that Princess is suppose to be a step up and that's why we're giving it a shot in March.  If Princess falls short of expectations, back to Celebrity for future cruises. And our 'expectations' are not that demanding, we are very simple cruisers.

[Perky1]

On 2/7/2019 at 1:08 PM, c-boy said:

 

We had cruised only with Princess (8 cruises) and then got away for a few years that we did AI.  A couple years back we decided to cruise again and tried Celebrity because of the lure of the drink package.  The only thing we found not as good with Celebrity was the entertainment was not quite as good as Princess.  But we love that each Balcony cabin has a sofa in it so no bucket chair to fight over...

 

We are back to doing a Princess one this year - we have the drink package, prepaid grat and small onboard credit - 10 nightcruise.... but next year we have a Celebrity once booked again - 11 night - drink pkg, prepaid grat and $200 obc and we are paying $700 less per cabin than this year on Princess.  Will let you know how I think they compare when I get back in April

Edited February 8, 2019 by Perky1
added

[pris993]

On 2/7/2019 at 8:51 AM, Ferndale Girl said:

I just saw a Celebrity cruise advertised that Princess doesn't offer.  Iceland and Greenland back to back from New Jersey - no flying involved.  We've taken many Princess cruises but never one with Celebrity.  I think I read somewhere that Celebrity isn't as good.  Has anybody that has been on Celebrity have anything good to say about it?  Any comments would be appreciated.

We are elite on both Princess and Celebrity.  We cruised on Celebrity more over 10 years ago.  Princess and Celebtiry new ships are very similar, we are not a fan of the new Royal class on Princess, prefer Grand class, line main deck, balconies which these new ships don't have.  We feel Princess is far more accomodating for special meal requests, Celebrity is more hit and miss.   But the bottom line both lines are good and very similar.  Hope these comments help. 

[hbrote]

15 hours ago, Hlitner said:

 But there are no alternative restaurants on Princess that even come close to Murano on some Celebrity ships. 

 

 

That is  the truth..... my wife and always wish they could have  Murano on board Princess would it be perfect in our opinion.

Edited February 8, 2019 by hbrote

[GUT2407]

2 hours ago, hbrote said:

 

That is  the truth..... my wife and always wish they could have  Murano on board Princess would it be perfect in our opinion.

Whereas Murano did nothing for me.

 

the one thing I’d like to grab from Celebrity for Princess is the Aqua Spa Cafe.

 

from Princess it’s not so much a location I’d like to take to Celebrity as the accomodation of Australian tastes, ie Pies at the Grill and Beetroot for the Burgers, type things.

[PrincessLuver]

3 hours ago, Perky1 said:

We had cruised only with Princess (8 cruises) and then got away for a few years that we did AI.

But we love that each Balcony cabin has a sofa in it so no bucket chair to fight over...

 

 

 

Looks like we will be leaving Princess because according to recent reports on CC they are removing the bucket chairs and small table from balconies on Princess ships and not replacing them.....may be causing Celebrity now....

[Perky1]

26 minutes ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

Looks like we will be leaving Princess because according to recent reports on CC they are removing the bucket chairs and small table from balconies on Princess ships and not replacing them.....may be causing Celebrity now....

I will see if the bucket chair is still there in April on Crown.

[OzKiwiJJ]

We mostly cruise on Princess but like Celebrity Solstice for variety. We're doing our third cruise on Solstice next month. Some things are slightly better on Princess, some things are slightly better on Celebrity, but they are much of a muchness in reality. Try them with an open mind and see what you think.

[casandbliz]

We are Elite on Celebrity, but just recently started cruising on Princess since we are on the West Coast, recently retired, and would prefer not to pay for airfare. 

 

On our first Princess (the Ruby) cruise, we compared her to Celebrity, and were pleasantly surprised. Some pros for Celebrity, some for Princess, but generally, for us anyway and what is important to us, they matched up. We like the option of the self service laundry on Princess, although we have never used it. 

 

I do miss the Elite status we have on Celebrity though. Maybe one day on Princess.....???

[abbydancer2003]

I sail both, and find them more similar than different.  

 

The MDR menu on Celebrity is slightly more upscale, but food quality can vary with the ship.

 

It's easier to get to Elite on Celebrity (depending on what cabin you get) but Elite perks are better on Princess.  More internet, and more free laundry.

 

They both have an elite lounge in the evening.  Celebrity has passed appetizers and a limited menu of free drinks, but the number is unlimited.

 

Princess has a better closet, but Celebrity rooms have couches.  Princess bathrooms have shower curtains, Celebrity has doors (at least on the ship I was on).

 

And mini suites on Celebrity get suite perks, including the butler, restaurant and private club.  They are more expensive though.

 

I think our current thinking is longer itineraries on Celebrity and getaways and Alaska on Princess, since we live on the west coast.

[Kingofcool1947]

On 2/7/2019 at 8:51 AM, Ferndale Girl said:

I just saw a Celebrity cruise advertised that Princess doesn't offer.  Iceland and Greenland back to back from New Jersey - no flying involved.  We've taken many Princess cruises but never one with Celebrity.  I think I read somewhere that Celebrity isn't as good.  Has anybody that has been on Celebrity have anything good to say about it?  Any comments would be appreciated.

iMO. Celebrity is better.  Better staterooms (chair, love seat),  food,  entertainment, public areas.

Edited February 9, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[Kingofcool1947]

28 minutes ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

iMO. Celebrity is better.  Better staterooms (chair, love seat),  food,  entertainment, public areas.

 

Both mass market cruise lines.  But I give Celebrity a slight overall edge.

[7960Ken]

We had sailed Princess many times, but chose Celebrity due to a certain itinerary at the right time. We have also been on Carnival and HAL. We chose the Celerity sky suite as it was similar to the mini suite we usually have on Princess. With the separate suite guest lounge , dining room and concierge desk, I felt we received more perks for our upgrade dollars than we do on Princess. I also thought the average age on Celebrity might have been a little lower, although that is very itinerary dependent. Overall, they are more similar than different. We will sail both in the future.

[villauk]

14 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We mostly cruise on Princess but like Celebrity Solstice for variety. We're doing our third cruise on Solstice next month. Some things are slightly better on Princess, some things are slightly better on Celebrity, but they are much of a muchness in reality. Try them with an open mind and see what you think.

 

 

Yes, they are more similar than different. The only class of ship which doesn’t interest us on X is the new Edge. Not because of the ship, more to do with the IV balconies. We are actually sailing on Princess this summer for 13 nights for less money than 7 nights on Edge, and it’s in a proper balcony cabin 😉.

[cruisequeen4ever]

We were left very under-whelmed by Celebrity in 2017.

 

I had always heard that Celebrity has the best food, so I was excited to try it. HA! My burger was pink, my strawberry daiquiri tasted like ice, we could hardly finish our MDR meal so ate at the buffet the rest of the cruise, and the desserts were utterly flavorless.

 

Beyond food, some of the crew was unprofessional, and others were snotty. Some were as you would hope for like 1 in the buffet and our room steward. You know how good the cookies are on Princess and how happy the crew are to pass them out. Well, I waited in line at Cafe Al Bacio to get one. The server was friendly with all in front of me who were ordering coffee drinks. When I asked for a cookie, he looked down on me for not ordering a paid coffee drink along with my cookie, and for a second, I thought he wouldn’t even give me one, no smile or acknowledgement at all. 

 

The ship itself, which is a sister ship to the one you’d take, was nice. We liked the bigger shower and the free thalassotherapy pool. I enjoyed the EDM music piped throughout the ship. The few good food items were st the buffet and were the stir fry station, cook to order steak, ice cream, and the breakfast. 

 

I’d sail Celebrity again if it offered an amazing itinerary that Princess didn’t offer, but I certainly would not try for another cruise with them. 

 

 

[villauk]

On 2/9/2019 at 12:04 AM, casandbliz said:

 

 

I do miss the Elite status we have on Celebrity though. Maybe one day on Princess.....???

 

 

Funnily enough, that was one area that didn’t bother us. We did our own laundry on Princess when we needed to and because we could control the programme required for the garments, we were able to wash more items than I would ever send out on X. We purchased the internet for the whole cruise which was far less than any plans bought on X (even with our free minutes and discounts). Additionally, the Captain’s Club gathering is really moot now as X bundle the beverage package into the offers, so you already have the included drinks (unless it’s a repositioning cruise). We had the Sip ’n Sail promotion on Princess and that also included a beverage package. Princess had an afternoon tea every day in the MDR - not once per sailing for Elites like on X. So, all in all, not much to miss really.

[lolane1]

On 2/7/2019 at 11:51 AM, Ferndale Girl said:

I just saw a Celebrity cruise advertised that Princess doesn't offer.  Iceland and Greenland back to back from New Jersey - no flying involved.  We've taken many Princess cruises but never one with Celebrity.  I think I read somewhere that Celebrity isn't as good.  Has anybody that has been on Celebrity have anything good to say about it?  Any comments would be appreciated.

I got so excited when I read your post.  No air - until I looked it up.  It ends up in Dublin, so air will be involved.  But that is not a deterrent for me. I was looking at the Princess's 16 day to Greenland this summer but I think I would prefer the ports on Celebrity.   Plus, I love the Summit. I have traveled on the Summit in Aqua class and throughly enjoyed Blu but 14 days is a bit pricy for Aqua class.  So I had better start saving...............

Edited February 10, 2019 by lolane1
spelling

[Ferndale Girl]

10 minutes ago, lolane1 said:

I got so excited when I read your post.  No air - until I looked it up.  It ends up in Dublin, so air will be involved.  But that is not a deterrent for me. I was looking at the Princess's 16 day to Greenland this summer but I think I would prefer the ports on Celebrity.   Plus, I love the Summit. I have traveled on the Summit in Aqua class and throughly enjoyed Blu but 14 days is a bit pricy for Aqua class.  So I had better start saving...............

You have to take a back to back cruise to end up back in Boston and there are ports repeated.  That is what made me think we'll pass on it.

[Doug R.]

On 2/8/2019 at 5:45 PM, GUT2407 said:

Whereas Murano did nothing for me.

 

the one thing I’d like to grab from Celebrity for Princess is the Aqua Spa Cafe.

 

from Princess it’s not so much a location I’d like to take to Celebrity as the accomodation of Australian tastes, ie Pies at the Grill and Beetroot for the Burgers, type things.

Please describe beetroot for a clueless Yank. Did they supply Vegimite as well? That I have tasted.

[WAMarathoner]

We've done Celebrity twice.  Both times, they were hosting huge groups that were their focus.  Not going to say "never," but they certainly aren't at the top of my list.  Completely different atmosphere than Princess (far less interaction with other people), but maybe that was due to the groups.

[GUT2407]

6 hours ago, Doug R. said:

Please describe beetroot for a clueless Yank. Did they supply Vegimite as well? That I have tasted.

I can’t recall any Cruise out of Australia not having some Vegemite. (But then I’m that Aussie that can live without the stuff).

 

The beetroot is the taproot portion of the beet plant, usually known in North America as the beet and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, or golden beet. It is cooked, usually sliced and used as a salad vegetable. Mostly bought in cans, though mum does her own.

 

 

[GUT2407]

I often say you will notice about the same difference between two ships from Princess, or two from Celebrity as you will between one fron each of them.

 

for me it comes down to timing, itinerary and pricing (in Aus $$$) Celebrity in Australia still charge onboard in US$ which can cause pricing issues, they also have less options than Princess, and many of their cruises each season are one way, ie Sydney-NZ or NZ-Syd, which for health reasons doesn’t work for us.

[GUT2407]

24 minutes ago, WAMarathoner said:

We've done Celebrity twice.  Both times, they were hosting huge groups that were their focus.  Not going to say "never," but they certainly aren't at the top of my list.  Completely different atmosphere than Princess (far less interaction with other people), but maybe that was due to the groups.

I’d suggest trying them again them again but researching so you don’t end up on another group cruise.

[Kingofcool1947]

14 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

I often say you will notice about the same difference between two ships from Princess, or two from Celebrity as you will between one fron each of them.

 

for me it comes down to timing, itinerary and pricing (in Aus $$$) Celebrity in Australia still charge onboard in US$ which can cause pricing issues, they also have less options than Princess, and many of their cruises each season are one way, ie Sydney-NZ or NZ-Syd, which for health reasons doesn’t work for us.

 

But you people don’t tip, correct?  

So the cost of the cruise for you people is less expensive?

[Kingofcool1947]

17 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

I often say you will notice about the same difference between two ships from Princess, or two from Celebrity as you will between one fron each of them.

 

for me it comes down to timing, itinerary and pricing (in Aus $$$) Celebrity in Australia still charge onboard in US$ which can cause pricing issues, they also have less options than Princess, and many of their cruises each season are one way, ie Sydney-NZ or NZ-Syd, which for health reasons doesn’t work for us.

 

But you people don’t tip, correct?  

So the cost of the cruise for you people is more expensive?

Edited February 10, 2019 by Kingofcool1947