Princess vs Celebrity

[1Gizmo]

When Celebrity has many Elite passengers they may not have a dedicated lounge where the drinks are unlimited and then issue coupons or attach the drinks to your card. The limit on coupons or card is three per day per elite passengers at most lounges.

[ehogan]

We recently sailed on Celebrity Eclipse...beautiful ship( some venues a bit sterile) but for us Princess excels  in almost all areas.  Celebrity prices on board are outrageous, e.g. specialty coffee twice the price as Princess.  Our dining experience on Eclipse was poor, unremarkable food and  very slow service in the MDR.  Buffet however was good if you could  get at it; extremely busy.

 

Princess is our preferred line for so many reasons:

Love, love the IC, MUTS

Lots to do in the evenings

Relaxed, comfortable venues

Friendly efficient service

Free internet once you get to Platinum

OBC for shareholders that you can stack with other OBC

 

On our next cruise we become Elite so looking forward to the new perks.

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We have recently switched to Princess and Celebrity and enjoy them both for different reasons! On Princess we book mini-suites and if the price is right, a vista suite. On Celebrity we book sky suites unless it's a highly sought after itinerary with stupid prices. In those cases we try to book a sunset balcony if available.

 

One area that both P and X stand out for us is the number of assistant CDs they have on a cruise. On the P cruises we've been on, there have been 5-6 assistants whereas on X, there is usually between 3-4, which allows both lines to offer a variety of fun things to do on sea days and in the evening. On sea days as we like to go to lectures, X usually has 2-3 a day where as Princess usually has only 1. They both usually have 3-4+ trivias on sea days. As far as evening shows go, we enjoy both and go every night, but I must say the theater ambiance on X's S-class ships with their 3-tiered auditoriums are pretty cool.

 

So for us, it comes down to itineraries. We like ones that are 3 to 5 weeks in length and or go to unique locations. But, because of this laundry becomes a key issue. On P they offer self-serve laundromats whereas on X there are none. So becoming Elite on X (which took us 4 cruises) with the 1 bag of free laundry pp (if you are both elite) per cruise leg comes in pretty handy, besides the free happy hour drinks you get. On P you have to get to their Elite loyalty level (150+ sailing days or 16 cruises) in order to get free laundry.

 

But, whichever line you choose, you'll have a great time, so try both!!

Edited August 26, 2019 by Ken the cruiser

[MTdreaming]

We prefer Princess, but would sail Celebrity again.  The storage areas in the cabins on Princess are much better.. Celebrity had enclosed shelves over thread of the bed, which was inconvenient at best.  We liked the dining and entertainment options on Princess, and on long cruises the ease of using a nearby laundry area is very handy.  We also felt like we could find some bar/lounge areas that did not have the musicians  broadcast in speakers every few yards making it much easier to actually visit with someone.  Each to his own, we have also cruised on Royal Caribbean and once on Carnival.  Princess is just a more comfortable fit for us.

[moodyb1]

We prefer Princess, but sail on Celebrity if they have an itinerary that is unique or fits our schedule. One thing I like about X is that all their pools are covered. For me, that's important. However, Princess is more generous with their benefits and perks. Also, there are a lot more activities on seas on P. I'm never bored sailing on Princess.

[BarbinMich]

We did our early cruises on Celebrity and liked them back then (mid-90s+), then tried Princess in 2000 and by the mid 2000's it became our preferred line (31 cruises).  Easier to get to Elite, I think, on Princess where benefits are better, too.  Eventually found out that we just needed one more cruise to reach Elite on X, so did the Eclipse in 2014.  Weren't particularly fond of that ship's design.  Did our first Elite X cruise on the Summit to Canada-NE in 2015 and haven't been back.  I will say that the buffet on the Eclipse was outstanding, especially its design (very high ceilings with floor-to-ceiling windows and scattered food stations).  I think generally the prices are lower on Princess and/or there are better deals.  Certainly didn't like the cabin layout on Eclipse as mentioned in a post above.  Our balcony cabin could have accommodated 4, I believe.  However, the "sofa bed" was actually a full size twin with bolsters for back support (I'm short and it just wasn't comfortable).  The desk was tiny and taken up with a "tea service" (we departed from Southampton); I suppose we could have asked to have it removed.  Did like the theater with u-shaped balcony.

Edited August 26, 2019 by BarbinMich

[SargassoPirate]

5 hours ago, 1Gizmo said:

When Celebrity has many Elite passengers they may not have a dedicated lounge where the drinks are unlimited and then issue coupons or attach the drinks to your card. The limit on coupons or card is three per day per elite passengers at most lounges.

 

That was our experience.  She Who Must Be Obeyed is not a big drinker, so between the two of us it was plenty.  On one Celebrity ship it was loaded onto the cruise card and we could use them anywhere on the ship and on another one it was paper coupons.

Either way, it worked for us.

[villauk]

On 8/26/2019 at 3:39 PM, 1Gizmo said:

When Celebrity has many Elite passengers they may not have a dedicated lounge where the drinks are unlimited and then issue coupons or attach the drinks to your card. The limit on coupons or card is three per day per elite passengers at most lounges.

 

 

As I posted previously, it is no longer only 3 drinks, it’s unlimited during the HH.

[Lady Arwen]

On 8/26/2019 at 10:39 AM, 1Gizmo said:

When Celebrity has many Elite passengers they may not have a dedicated lounge where the drinks are unlimited and then issue coupons or attach the drinks to your card. The limit on coupons or card is three per day per elite passengers at most lounges.

No coupons.  Drinks are unlimited in any lounge or bar (only one exception) and in dedicated lounge, if available, during HH.  You may get a drink or wine at a bar and take it into the MDR.  We did this every night in May on Infinity.  This has been posted here a few times now.

[1Gizmo]

How thing change, on a TA in 2015 it was limited to 3 coupons at that time. Thank for the info on unlimited during HH.

[nini]

We had the less expensive "Classic" beverage package on the Celebrity Reflection.

Only TWO of their white wines were possible. On the Regal, that was a much better

situation and the drinks on Princess cost the same as when we go out.

[mtnesterz]

On 8/26/2019 at 11:31 AM, moodyb1 said:

We prefer Princess, but sail on Celebrity if they have an itinerary that is unique or fits our schedule. One thing I like about X is that all their pools are covered. For me, that's important. However, Princess is more generous with their benefits and perks. Also, there are a lot more activities on seas on P. I'm never bored sailing on Princess.

+1

Celebrity (twice) and Princess (high loyalty.) Food slightly better on Celebrity, but disembarkation was chaotic on both sailings. Princess disembarkation is a well oiled machine. Celebrity was both the best and worst cruise we've taken.  Princess has been very consistent.  Matter of taste. Try both!

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by mtnesterz

[MarkBearSF]

On 8/26/2019 at 2:13 AM, villauk said:

Swings and roundabouts comparing both.

 

I've never heard this phrase before. I'm filing it away for a perfect moment to spring it on some UK friends.

[richsea]

On 8/26/2019 at 2:31 PM, moodyb1 said:

We prefer Princess, but sail on Celebrity if they have an itinerary that is unique or fits our schedule. One thing I like about X is that all their pools are covered. For me, that's important. However, Princess is more generous with their benefits and perks. Also, there are a lot more activities on seas on P. I'm never bored sailing on Princess.

Sorry, but all of Celebrity’s pools are not covered, on any of their ships. The main pool is uncovered, while the Solarium pool is covered.

[moodyb1]

13 hours ago, richsea said:

Sorry, but all of Celebrity’s pools are not covered, on any of their ships. The main pool is uncovered, while the Solarium pool is covered.

Sorry, I made a mistake. I meant to say at least one of their pools is covered.

 

Thanks for catching my error @richsea.

 

Arlene

[lovetovcruise]

Thanks for all the replys, we have booked Regal Princess May 15, 2020 for a British Isles. Looking forward to the cruise.

[scubacruiserx2]

7 minutes ago, lovetovcruise said:

Thanks for all the replys, we have booked Regal Princess May 15, 2020 for a British Isles. Looking forward to the cruise.

 

We will be disembarking the Regal on that day .

[aprilsp88]

On 8/26/2019 at 5:18 AM, mosenga said:

We enjoy the live music in the evenings on Princess and other activities. Celebrity doesn't seem to have as much going on.

Do you mean celebrity has much less live music? I remember others mentioned before there is not much in parallel on Celebrity. But do you at least can stay with the only live band for the whole night if choose to? Do they take a lot of breaks? How's the band? Are they similar to Princess?

[villauk]

41 minutes ago, aprilsp88 said:

Do you mean celebrity has much less live music? I remember others mentioned before there is not much in parallel on Celebrity. But do you at least can stay with the only live band for the whole night if choose to? Do they take a lot of breaks? How's the band? Are they similar to Princess?

 

 

In our experience, X has must less and their production shows are awful, since they started producing them in-house.

[mosenga]

6 hours ago, aprilsp88 said:

Do you mean celebrity has much less live music? I remember others mentioned before there is not much in parallel on Celebrity. But do you at least can stay with the only live band for the whole night if choose to? Do they take a lot of breaks? How's the band? Are they similar to Princess?

 

As I noted, yes I believe that Celebrity has less live music and less going on in general in the evenings. On Princess, there was always a sing-along pianist taking requests, a guitar player in another lounge also taking requests, and the Skywalkers Night Club was fun at night. There was also a club where the band played dance music for couples dancing. There was just a much livelier atmosphere and more options on Princess.

On Celebrity, there would maybe be one bar where the guitar player called her set an 80's set and was actually playing 70's music, without taking any requests. She quit at 10 or so and there wasn't much else going on on the ship. We prefer the music on Princess.

[Lolabunny488]

I’m very interested to see people options we’ve been an avid celebrity and Cunard and since celebrity have risen there prices so much we have chosen a princess one for Xmas this year. 

[Gracie115]

I'm in agreement that Celebrity has less entertainment, especially in the evenings.  We've been loyal to X for a long time, but now are getting ready for our 3rd Princess cruise and the options for live entertainment are much more on Princess.  We enjoyed their production shows on Celebrity and Princess, but there isn't much other than that on Celebrity after 7PM while Princess has several other options till late in the evening.  Also really like the piazza area on Princess ships, great place for people watching!!

[scubacruiserx2]

Not the Righteous Brothers but we had to stop in the Regal atrium when we heard this song .

 

 

 

[Grayce]

We have travelled on Princess many more times than Celebrity. We like longer cruises so we prefer Princess because of the self-service laundry.  Princess cabins seem to have much more storage. I love the dressing area in Princess cabins. We are platinum on Princess and get free internet, love that. 

 

I prefer the drink packages on Celebrity. We do not drink alcohol and love the Celebrity non-alcoholic packages that include bottled water and specialty coffees and teas.  Princess does not have anything comparable. I like the covered adults-only solarium pools on Celebrity. 

 

I think the food and service are fairly similar. 

 

Itinerary is important to us so we will take whichever cruise line has the better itinerary. Next year we have 2 Celebrity cruises booked because princess did not have anything comparable. I used to think Princess prices were better but now it seems that they are very similar.