Princess or Celebrity

[seaworthy1]

To those who have cruised on both, which would you do if the cost was about the same. Grand Princess 15 nt r/t LA to Hawaii in a mini-suite or Celebrity Eclipse 11 nt Vancouver to Hawaii in Aqua class.  We have sailed Celebrity quite a bit and pretty much know the ins and outs and have never sailed Princess and know next to nothing.

 

Living in Phoenix, the air fare would be cheaper on the LA r/t.  I know this is one of those "what's your personal preferences" questions, but I'm just looking for experienced opinions. Thanks in advance.

[CineGraphic]

If you like to use the spa, stick with Celebrity. If more days on board are more important to you, go with Princess. Vancouver is the most beautiful port to sail in and out of, much better than LA.

[mcrcruiser]

17 minutes ago, seaworthy1 said:

To those who have cruised on both, which would you do if the cost was about the same. Grand Princess 15 nt r/t LA to Hawaii in a mini-suite or Celebrity Eclipse 11 nt Vancouver to Hawaii in Aqua class.  We have sailed Celebrity quite a bit and pretty much know the ins and outs and have never sailed Princess and know next to nothing.

 

Living in Phoenix, the air fare would be cheaper on the LA r/t.  I know this is one of those "what's your personal preferences" questions, but I'm just looking for experienced opinions. Thanks in advance.

We think you answered your own question  regards to cost with San Pedro Ca being closer .in fact you could drive here .  another thing to think is  About the newer holland america Koningsdam ,leaving San Diego Feb 2 ,2022 ;which is a 18 night R/T  SD to Hawaii  cruise on a gorgeous ship built in 2015  , We are  Elite Plus on Celebrity ;but ,do not want to fly any longer ,so we have booked Holland America aships from the west coast or Princess ships .This Feb 2nd cruise is a winner with over night stays in Oahu   .you would see great service & every good food .Get the all inclusive package with ppd gratuities , signature beverage package & speciality dining  ,Yum    

 

 Aloha

[dog]

No question, Celebrity over Grand Princess. Have sailed on Grand, Star , Golden - showing their age   

[Treasure Hunter]

We have 30 cruises on Princess our first love and 6 recently on Celebrity in Sky suite or Celebrity suite. But when on Celebrity with friends we eat the MDR because they are happy with a balcony cabin. If your mini suite on Princess is club class ( anytime dining in a special better service area) it’s a slam dunk. Princess has much more to do on a sea day and there a lot of them to Hawaii. They bring on great specialty acts. Comedy, Trivia and funny nighttime games are better. Staff is the friendliest and really cares. The excursions are run better ( like the invasion at D-Day). Celebrity suite perks are much better with the retreat etc. but you aren’t planning on that for this cruise. You could pay extra for the Sanctuary on Princess which =The Retreat on Celebrity. When I see the Princess Sea Witch logo my heart beats faster.

[Mike45LC]

I personally find the two to be reasonably comparable, with Celebrity on top.  Celebrity is usually significantly more expensive, though.   My last Aqua Class cruise, we had too few sea days to take advantage of the spa, but we still had Blu.

 

I let itinerary and price decide. 

 

[rbtan]

3 hours ago, dog said:

No question, Celebrity over Grand Princess. Have sailed on Grand, Star , Golden - showing their age   

Did the Star last year, just before the "bug" hit. Hawaii trip. Food was fairly poor. Ultimate balcony dinner, however was outstanding. Stayed in a Club Class mini. Like the perks that came with it. The ship really needed work. I hear it's been transferred to another line. The amount of rust on the hull really took away from it's appeal. he staff, however really shines. We love Oceania for great food, but the staff on Princess is truly second to none. The Royal class ships are very nice. I used to really like Celebrity, but cutbacks on the Solstice class made us jump to Oceania.  The Edge class just has too many pretty but useless things..Take the infinity balcony..just a sliding window. The Celebrity specialty rest. are much better than what Princess offers, but cost more as well.

[Lady Arwen]

For us Celebrity Edge Class or Princess Royal Class.  Celebrity just a tad better, but our next cruise is Enchanted Princess in 2022.  We book whatever itineraries are most appealing and who’s giving us the most bang for our buck.  Not a fan of Princess Grand Class.  We do like Celebrity S class, M Class not as much as we used to.

[hootmon]

Guess I am in the minority. Having sailed I find Celebrity a bit more upscale but a bit stuffy or formal. We feel more at home on Princess (28 times). Take your pick. Can't lose either way.

 

 

 

[leck57]

We have cruised both, and there are more similarities than differences. We always get a standard balcony cabin. As a quick summary (you will find a heap of threads on this topic) we find the cabins are slightly better on Celebrity, food much the same, Princess far better for entertainment. Celebrity tend to concentrate most entertainment, other than shows, around the atrium which we find crowded. Princess has far more choice and has it spread out over a number of venues.

We probably have a slight preference for Princess but the itinerary would be our first deciding factor. 

Edited March 30, 2021 by leck57

[Tak8]

I would go with the more days.  Also, I think it's good to try different lines for comparison.  Either you find your new favorite or remember why the OG favorite learned its spot.

[caribill]

11 hours ago, seaworthy1 said:

To those who have cruised on both, which would you do if the cost was about the same. Grand Princess 15 nt r/t LA to Hawaii in a mini-suite or Celebrity Eclipse 11 nt Vancouver to Hawaii in Aqua class.

 

Which cruise itinerary has the Hawaii ports you want to visit?

 

Both go to Hilo, Lahaina and Honolulu. (Celebrity has two days in Lahaina.)

 

Princess goes to Kuaui, but Celebrity does not.

 

Celebrity goes to Kona (and sails by the Kilauea Volcano, but Princess does not.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

We like Princess for the “movies under the stars” on the Lido deck in the evening and the on FREE On Demand movies in the room when we turn in for the night. They have a huge selection of free movies.  We like the dining selection and the service on-board can’t be beat.  If you are looking for activities there is always something to do.  The interactive game shows are super fun.

[Treasure Hunter]

Yes! I forgot about the terrific selection of Free movies. Often small special movies like Walking on Sunshine or A Royal Night Out. What a pleasure not to pay if you’ve seen the Princess theater entertainment or are pooped from a long excursion.

[Mike45LC]

13 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

We like Princess for the “movies under the stars” on the Lido deck in the evening and the on FREE On Demand movies in the room when we turn in for the night. They have a huge selection of free movies.  We like the dining selection and the service on-board can’t be beat.  If you are looking for activities there is always something to do.  The interactive game shows are super fun.

In contrast, the "Movies Under the Stars" is one of the things I hate about Princess.  They blare the noise from the movies and sports events and video concerts all day (not just at night as the name would suggest), ruining the atmosphere at the pool, and the audio quality is so low that is is just noise and not intelligible dialog.  

 

Movies on Demand:  I rarely if ever even turn on the TV in my cabin, and I have never watched a movie on TV whilst on a cruise.  

 

This is what makes horse races, I guess.

 

[nini]

21 hours ago, hootmon said:

Guess I am in the minority. Having sailed I find Celebrity a bit more upscale but a bit stuffy or formal. We feel more at home on Princess (28 times). Take your pick. Can't lose either way.

 

 

 

 

AGREED!  Our last Celebrity cruise allowed us to basically directly compare it to the Regal Princess...............

SNOOTY and STUFFY! Give me Princess and the Grand anytime.

Plus, you can drive to San Pedro.

[pris993]

On 3/30/2021 at 12:02 PM, dog said:

No question, Celebrity over Grand Princess. Have sailed on Grand, Star , Golden - showing their age   

Each person is different.  We are elite on Celebrity and elite on Princess.  We have cruised the Grand, Star, Golden etc., like you, plus we have cruised the Eclipse and 2 other sisters ships, forget their names at the moment.  There was a time we really enjoyed Celebrity, much less so ever since they built the larger modern ships.  Service on Celebrity was never as good as Princess for us.  But since OP has not cruised on Princess at all, I would say the Grand which was built in 1998, is a more traditional cruise ship model.  If you like the newer models Celebrity has you may not like the Grand.  

 

I was last on the Grand, 2/20/20, so not long ago. I would go on the Grand again. 

 

 

[sugcarol]

Done both several times and prefer Celebrity hands down.

[dog]

5 hours ago, pris993 said:

Each person is different.  We are elite on Celebrity and ...

 

4 hours ago, sugcarol said:

Done both several times and prefer Celebrity hands down.

so true. 

[nini]

Celebrity staff, food, service was quite a downer for us on a 12 night cruise. We had a Beverage Package (not the expensive one) and I asked what white wines were a part of my package. The bartender replied in a very snooty/ high horse attitude, "There are only two white wines available for you". There was basically no service in the buffet area. Of all the times we ate in the buffet, I do not think one person asked to clear our plates, let alone ask us if we would like a beverage, more coffee, water. And the sanitation with the food was not pleasant.

 

This was quite a contrast to what we experience on Princess.

[Kamloops50]

On 3/30/2021 at 11:20 AM, seaworthy1 said:

To those who have cruised on both, which would you do if the cost was about the same. Grand Princess 15 nt r/t LA to Hawaii in a mini-suite or Celebrity Eclipse 11 nt Vancouver to Hawaii in Aqua class.  We have sailed Celebrity quite a bit and pretty much know the ins and outs and have never sailed Princess and know next to nothing.

 

Living in Phoenix, the air fare would be cheaper on the LA r/t.  I know this is one of those "what's your personal preferences" questions, but I'm just looking for experienced opinions. Thanks in advance.

I would Celebrity . Starting in Hawaii it ends in Vancouver BC. Vancouver is our home port.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On 3/31/2021 at 12:51 PM, Mike45LC said:

In contrast, the "Movies Under the Stars" is one of the things I hate about Princess.  They blare the noise from the movies and sports events and video concerts all day (not just at night as the name would suggest), ruining the atmosphere at the pool, and the audio quality is so low that is is just noise and not intelligible dialog.  

 

Movies on Demand:  I rarely if ever even turn on the TV in my cabin, and I have never watched a movie on TV whilst on a cruise.  

 

This is what makes horse races, I guess.

 

 

On 3/31/2021 at 12:51 PM, Mike45LC said:

In contrast, the "Movies Under the Stars" is one of the things I hate about Princess.  They blare the noise from the movies and sports events and video concerts all day (not just at night as the name would suggest), ruining the atmosphere at the pool, and the audio quality is so low that is is just noise and not intelligible dialog.  

 

Movies on Demand:  I rarely if ever even turn on the TV in my cabin, and I have never watched a movie on TV whilst on a cruise.  

 

This is what makes horse races, I guess.

 

Yes, people either love or hate MUTS. For me there is nothing like being curled up in a blanket out on the open deck at night watching movies.  I really enjoy On Demand when I turn in for the night.  I like to set the sleep timer on the TV and fall asleep while I’m watching.  Just curious, which activities do you prefer? 

[Mike45LC]

6 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

 

Yes, people either love or hate MUTS. For me there is nothing like being curled up in a blanket out on the open deck at night watching movies.  I really enjoy On Demand when I turn in for the night.  I like to set the sleep timer on the TV and fall asleep while I’m watching.  Just curious, which activities do you prefer? 

I love sitting out at the pool when there is no MUTS blasting (which is rarer and rarer).  I love talking to my new friends on board, by the pool or other public areas.  I enjoy many of the entertainment offerings -- music in the atrium or other venues, shows (even if I've seen them several times before), even trivia and other contests.  I even do the complimentary (for Elites) wine tastings, even though I do not drink wine; I keep hoping that someday, I will enjoy a wine, but so far, no success!  

 

I stopped doing the egg drop after my second successful drop --- my first was popcorn cushioning and then a parachute (bought from a beach vendor in Puerto Vallarta).  And we are Casino Guests, so you know that means we spend a lot of time in the casino.  As a favor to my fellow passengers, I do not do karaoke.

 

To watch a movie (other than On Demand), I need to plan it -- arrive at the beginning and spend the next 90 minutes (or however long) dedicated to the movie.  That is whether it is in a theater or on deck.  Add the lousy audio on deck, and it is a "no go" for me.

 

I love Princess, but I hate the MUTS.

 

[Steelers36]

For those who express the two lines are similar in terms of their personal satisfaction, I am thinking the post-Covid situation may favor one line over the other in terms of how people feel about the experience change and what each line does.  If one already favors one line significantly then I imagine the Covid measures and changes won't materially affect the opinion.

 

[Lucky TGO]

58 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

For those who express the two lines are similar in terms of their personal satisfaction, I am thinking the post-Covid situation may favor one line over the other in terms of how people feel about the experience change and what each line does.  If one already favors one line significantly then I imagine the Covid measures and changes won't materially affect the opinion.

 

Hi Mr. Steelers36,

My new friend (See Photo) said Princess is the cruise line for her. She can’t wait to go on her first Princess cruise. I hope you will join us.

Tony