Princess and Celebrity Comparison

[reedprincess]

18 hours ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Have you done the New Orleans itinerary? I’m thinking of booking it for 2024. How close is the ship to the fun? 

We've done the Mardi Gras cruise on Celebrity. Amazing.

One hiccup, that was rectified the next year - on our itinerary, we did several Caribbean ports first, which meant when we hit NO, everyone has to go through US immigration before they could disembark the ship. Suites went first, followed by Celebrity tours, and independents were last, and it took hours - a lot of people missed their first afternoon/evening waiting to clear immigration.

The next year, they changed the itinerary to hit NO first, then the other Caribbean ports, no issues with immigration that way..

 

Our roll call was awesome, we organized all sorts of onboard activities including full Carnival parade of our own complete with bead toss, instruments, costumes, etc - escorted by security, announced on the daily newsletter so people could avoid if they wanted, etc. We had pool games, pub crawls, slot pulls, meet and greets, cocktail parties and so forth. It was fantastic. Everyone was aboard to thoroughly enjoy themselves!

 

Gangway was open 24/7. It was fantastic to be able to enjoy parades, French Quarter, etc and escape to the ship for peace and quiet..  

 

We have friends who go every year and have a hotel suite on the parade route with balcony, so we joined them all 3 nights for the parades, food, etc then partied our way through the French quarter til dawn... It was fab.

 

And 2 sea days to recover on the way back to FL! 

 

Absolutely a fabulous way to enjoy Mardi Gras! Would do it again in a heartbeat, if we could get as good of a deal as we did back then... 

[cruisequeen4ever]

I enjoyed reading your comparison and thought I’d add my humble opinion in each category. 

 

Television - Princess- There’s no comparison to me; they have way more free movie and TV options. 

 

Internet - I can’t compare, since I didn’t pay for Internet on Celebrity. 

 

Embarkation  / Disembarkation - “Even”- I agree.

 

Entertainment - “Princess”- I agree. They have better shows. 

 

Pastries - Princess- hands down IMO!- Princess has the best tasting pastries, and the ones I’ve had on Celebrity have been bland. 

 

Coffee bar - Princess- Celebrity has good drinks, but Princess’s taste better IMO. I have to say Celebrity moved people through the line faster, though. 

 

Friendliness - Even- So many friendly, wonderful crew members on both. 

 

Cookies- Princess- Celebrity did have good cookies, but my favorites are on Princess. 

 

Overall food -Princess- Though my last Celebrity cruise was improved from the previous one in this area, it still didn’t compare to what we get on Princess. We were in an ordinary balcony. People in suites experience very different food on Celebrity. 

 

Desserts - Princess- Celebrity has good LOOKING desserts, but the flavor always lets me down. 

 

Cocktails - Princess- Sometimes Celebrity drinks have lacked flavor; other times, they’ve been great. I’ve never had a bad drink on Princess; they’re delicious. 

 

Beds - Princess- hands down IMO!! The Princess bed is a 10/10; the bed on Celebrity was a 5/10 and like a basic motel bed. 

 

Activities- Princess- Though activities are consistent and fun on both, Princess has a few more and like the OP said, BINGO! Bingo is a highlight of a cruise for me. 

 

Apps - Princess- The ability to order drinks to be delivered to you anywhere is simply awesome.

 

Spa - “even”- I agree- I’ve had great experiences on both. 

 

Toiletries - Princess- I still use their tubes of lotion in my purse. 

 

Ice cream -  “Celebrity - love the Gelato!”- I agree- Their gelato was amazing.

 

Casino -Celebrity - They give free drinks to active players. Plus, they have kept some of the older slots games that are still fun. 

 

Dining Room Service - Even- I’ve had wonderful servers on both. 
 

It’s wonderful everyone can form their own opinion and choose their preferred cruise line. Cheers to cruising!

[Ggrun5673]

We have sailed both more than once. Since no one else has mentioned this, Princess has laundry facilities, which is a huge plus for those of us who travel light. (Carryon luggage or 1 smaller checked bag).  On Celebrity last year, I had to wash things out in our sink to avoid crazy high fees to have it done for us. Not a deal breaker, but it’s nice to have that option on Princess. We are sailing on Princess Aug. 30th and are looking forward to many ports we haven’t been to in New England and Canada. 
  Pluses for Celebrity, is that we had a couch in our regular balcony room. It was nice to have a place to sit besides the bed and one chair (Princess regular balcony room). We thought the buffet food was really good on Celebrity and we ate there quite often. Staff was VERY friendly and all said hello in the hallways. We used the gym on sea days but wish classes were included or not so expensive. Also used the walking track most days and I’m hoping I can do the same on the Promenade deck on Princess.

[loge23]

On 6/12/2023 at 11:38 AM, rj59 said:

You seem to be comparing old ships to each other, which isn't really fair. I've been on Discovery and was impressed, but it's not that different from other Royal class ships. I was on Apex, and it was the most amazing experience, in terms of design and uniqueness and wide variety of entertainment and other venues. Gary Bembridge on Tips for Travelers says the same, that Princess hasn't really innovated, whereas Celebrity has.

The OP also mentioned that they stayed in a Sky Suite on Celebrity, which is fantastic, quite expensive now, and simply not comparable with anything on Princess. There are other major differences and that's what makes for effective differentiation in Marketing. We like both lines, but we're more emotionally attached to Princess since that goes back to 1992 with us and we have celebrated so many big events in our lives onboard their ships. So, the hair-splitting really doesn't help us when we're choosing our next trip - we know each line will satisfy, it's just more about itineraries and familiarity when you get down to it. 

I will say the one thing that we always note when comparing the two lines is what's important to us: wine service. On that note, Celebrity kills. Not having a dedicated wine steward aboard in the MDR's is one major flaw for Princess - along with the stock-outs! The Vines wine bar is a good alternative on some Princess ships, but that seems to being eliminated on the new vessels - and don't get me started on the limited availability by-the-glass in the MDR's!

Also, the new Celebrity ships in the Edge-class are really stunning, but Princess still has a much better Piazza/Atrium area.

Happy Cruising!