Celebrity vs Princess

[swjumbo]

Here bobbing around the Atlantic on the Sky Princess and we miss Celebrity.

Crew are good but lack the passion and enthusiasm of Celebrity.

Overall it’s clean but twice there has been no soap in the ladies’ loos and they smell (apparently). Paper towels too as opposed to cloth.

The Premium drinks package is confusing to say the least.

Plastic glasses and strange cutlery in the buffet.

Speciality dining is good.

The huge movie screen over the pool blares out noise constantly.

Glad we have Celebrity to look forward to in a few months as we probably won’t be back here.

Below is a pic of the plastic glass! Poolside absolutely but in the buffet?

 

Edited April 17 by swjumbo

[D. B.]

32 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

Here bobbing around the Atlantic on the Sky Princess and we miss Celebrity.

Crew are good but lack the passion and enthusiasm of Celebrity.

Overall it’s clean but twice there has been no soap in the ladies’ loos and they smell (apparently). Paper towels too as opposed to cloth.

The Premium drinks package is confusing to say the least.

Plastic glasses and strange cutlery in the buffet.

Speciality dining is good.

The huge movie screen over the pool blares out noise constantly.

Glad we have Celebrity to look forward to in a few months as we probably won’t be back here.

Below is a pic of the plastic glass! Poolside absolutely but in the buffet?

 

My experience with Princess was the same and No Sky Lounge at the front of the ship.

that is my Favorite place on Celebrities S and M class ships.

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

I agree. It feels more like home on Princess but they do have their problems. Celebrity is just a better product. 
 

Although….  I just got off the Sun Princess today in their version of The Retreat and they have definitely stepped it up a notch. Service throughout the Sun was much better than other ships and their suite service almost was equal to Celebrity. Almost. Much better than in the past. 

[swjumbo]

42 minutes ago, D. B. said:

My experience with Princess was the same and No Sky Lounge at the front of the ship.

that is my Favorite place on Celebrities S and M class ships.

The Sky Lounge isn’t just my favourite place on the ship, it’s seriously my favourite place ever.

So many happy memories on all the Solstice ships.

It’s the naughty place at the end of the night, the lovely place for Officer’s parties and just a nice place to chill.

 

[scouse mouse]

They do have a really good App though.  And ordering drinks on your phone - amazing.

[Spif Barwunkel]

We have yet to experience the enjoyment of a Princess cruise. That will change in December of this year and November of 2025 when Caribbean Princess followed by Sky Princess take up residence at Port Canaveral. We are booked on each ship and are happy that Princess has decided to locate a ship in our neighborhood. 

 

Celebrity is and will remain our cruise line of choice. Despite all the negative commentary over the last several years, we have experienced no significant adversities. For us, given the insignificant issues and concerns mentioned in this thread, I see no reason not to anticipate the best that Princess has to offer.   

[Beamafar]

Sailed twice on X (in Sky suites);  have our first Princess cruise booked for later this year and a non-suite X booked for late 2025.  Looking forward to comparing the experiences and interested in reading opinions on here regarding the differences between the two lines. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

13 minutes ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

Caribbean Princess

We are booked on each ship

yikes. We will never sail on CB again. 🙂 Sorry, not sorry! Not the best Princess has to offer. Maybe, not the worst, but definitely not the best. Disclaimer: I am talking about steerage class - it may be amazing in first class, but we'll never know.

 

We've been on several Princess cruises and we love Royal class. We've just sailed on our first X cruise and loved it. However, while MDR food was very good, it wasn't quite the same level as Enchanted Princess' MDR, buffet or International cafe. Now, I do know that Enchanted and Reflection aren't the same class, but, subjectively, the food was better on Enchanted, with the exception of a creme brulee and escargot on Reflection, which were superior to Princess.

 

Crew friendliness and enthusiasm were absolutely incomparable on Reflection. First class attitude even in steerage class.

Edited April 17 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, swjumbo said:

Plastic glasses in the buffet.

Reflection has plastic glasses in the buffet. As far as I know it's normal.

[PTC DAWG]

2 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Reflection has plastic glasses in the buffet. As far as I know it's normal.

One of the main reasons ships do this is because folks take the glasses out to the pool deck, etc..

[Itchy&Scratchy]

5 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

One of the main reasons ships do this is because folks take the glasses out to the pool deck, etc..

It appears, though, that OP thinks X doesn't have plastic glasses in the buffet...

[doghog]

Just off the Enchanted princess and it was our 6th Princess cruise. 10 nights, great itinerary. Great ship. Big ship (146,000 GT) but never felt crowded. Standard balcony cabin. Only bummer shower curtain instead of glass door. Another bummer is they still allow smoking in the casino. Very friendly and interactive staff thu out the ship. Great entertainment. We had the Plus package. Better than Celebrity's AI package. We ate in one of the three MDRs. More main entrees to select from each evening than what Celebrity offers. Another bummer, no sommeliers.  Loyalty program is no way as good as Celebrity's CC. Evening Captains Circle gathering in the Vista Lounge every evening. We had the Plus package so not cost for dinks. Also small buffet set up for snacks. We liked the medallion v Seapass card. No loungers to contend with on the track. So walking anytime of day was without crowds. The gym and spa both have their own change rooms with showers.  We like the differences and similarities between Celebrity and Princess. 

Edited April 17 by doghog

[doghog]

30 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

yikes. We will never sail on CB again. 🙂 Sorry, not sorry! Not the best Princess has to offer. Maybe, not the worst, but definitely not the best. Disclaimer: I am talking about steerage class - it may be amazing in first class, but we'll never know.

 

We've been on several Princess cruises and we love Royal class. We've just sailed on our first X cruise and loved it. However, while MDR food was very good, it wasn't quite the same level as Enchanted Princess' MDR, buffet or International cafe. Now, I do know that Enchanted and Reflection aren't the same class, but, subjectively, the food was better on Enchanted, with the exception of a creme brulee and escargot on Reflection, which were superior to Princess.

 

Crew friendliness and enthusiasm were absolutely incomparable on Reflection. First class attitude even in steerage class.

My wife was disappointed that the Enchanted only offered escargot one evening. Both Celebrity and Princess needs to start adding horseradish back to their shrimp cocktail sauce. Both are very weak and watery. At least in the MDRs. A nice surprise when lobster was served (second to the last evening) it was a surf n turf (tenderloin) combo. When we ordered our server asked if we wanted two lobster tails each. We declined. One was plenty as our meals are always 5 courses plus wine. 

[D. B.]

1 hour ago, swjumbo said:

The Sky Lounge isn’t just my favourite place on the ship, it’s seriously my favourite place ever.

So many happy memories on all the Solstice ships.

It’s the naughty place at the end of the night, the lovely place for Officer’s parties and just a nice place to chill.

 

Sounds like you feel the same way about the Sky Lounge as I do.

Let me warn you that the last of the 5 S class ships Reflection has a butchered up Sky Lounge where X cut off most of the Left half to install more Suites. At the same time the ceiling was lowered and part of the floor raised.

🥲

[D. B.]

32 minutes ago, doghog said:

Just off the Enchanted princess and it was our 6th Princess cruise. 10 nights, great itinerary. Great ship. Big ship (146,000 GT) but never felt crowded. Standard balcony cabin. Only bummer shower curtain instead of glass door. Another bummer is they still allow smoking in the casino. Very friendly and interactive staff thu out the ship. Great entertainment. We had the Plus package. Better than Celebrity's AI package. We ate in one of the three MDRs. More main entrees to select from each evening than what Celebrity offers. Another bummer, no sommeliers.  Loyalty program is no way as good as Celebrity's CC. Evening Captains Circle gathering in the Vista Lounge every evening. We had the Plus package so not cost for dinks. Also small buffet set up for snacks. We liked the medallion v Seapass card. No loungers to contend with on the track. So walking anytime of day was without crowds. The gym and spa both have their own change rooms with showers.  We like the differences and similarities between Celebrity and Princess. 

The Medallion on Princess was one of the things I disliked the most and I was So happy to throw it in the trashcan as I left the ship

[Itchy&Scratchy]

24 minutes ago, doghog said:

My wife was disappointed that the Enchanted only offered escargot one evening.

Surprisingly, I do not like Princess' escargot's butter flavor. Too many spices. However, I couldn't get enough of it on Reflection - simple yet delicious.

 

X

 

 

 

Princess

 

And you simply cannot go wrong with nutella crepes served during dinner buffet on Enchanted. 

 

 

 

ETA

We love the Medallion system. 

 

 

 

Edited April 17 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Arizona Wildcat]

Have recently done a couple Princess Cruises.  Lounge on Emerald was just like the one on Celebrity.  Drink package much better on Princess as most things covered with basic package.

Entertainment much prefer X as well as the buffet.

As for the crew, pretty much ALL crew on every line tries to do their best.

After some 20+ cruises on X we will sail the itinerary.  For example X has a 7 day Norway cruise, but HAL.in 14 days goes all the way to North Cape.  Other situations X is better as in Alaska.  Comparing Whittier to Seward?  Seriously?

[doghog]

17 minutes ago, D. B. said:

The Medallion on Princess was one of the things I disliked the most and I was So happy to throw it in the trashcan as I left the ship

I did that and always do that with the Seapass cards when we get home. We didn't even use the medallion to it's full potential as I keep my phone in the nightstand drawer by the bed. We liked the option the door would automatically unlock when approaching the cabin door and the monitor acknowledged us. But to each their own and not a deal breaker

Edited April 17 by doghog

[Ken the cruiser]

One thing Princess has over Celebrity is their longer, more unique 3-5 week itineraries. Other than that, we have a great time cruising on either, as long as we can get a real balcony cabin when cruising on Celebrity E-class ships and a Reserve Collection mini-suite when booked with Princess.

[D. B.]

57 minutes ago, doghog said:

I did that and always do that with the Seapass cards when we get home. We didn't even use the medallion to it's full potential as I keep my phone in the nightstand drawer by the bed. We liked the option the door would automatically unlock when approaching the cabin door and the monitor acknowledged us. But to each their own and not a deal breaker

My medallion was supposed to unlock my cabin door but rarely worked unless I waved it around right at the door or slapped it against the wall.

Another useless waste of time and I like my Celebrity  Seapass card that works ever time.

[doghog]

8 minutes ago, D. B. said:

My medallion was supposed to unlock my cabin door but rarely worked unless I waved it around right at the door or slapped it against the wall.

Another useless waste of time and I like my Celebrity  Seapass card that works ever time.

Did you go to GS and tell them about it not working?  GS would have made you a new one in less than 5 minutes. I've had Seapass cards that stopped working. Aagin a simple trip and short wait time at GS for a new one. No biggie. 

 

I've also read on the Princess forum you can request a Seapass card from GS on Princess.

Edited April 17 by doghog

[Gracie115]

We love the suites on Princess, lovely rooms.  Their Plus and Premier packages are far better than X's all included.  Just booked a TA in November 2025 to celebrate our 40th anniversary!!.  

 

Service has always been good on Princess for us anyway and the same on X.  Princess has not upped their prices anywhere near what X has done.  We sail for where we want to go now, not for the cruiseline.

[swjumbo]

2 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

It appears, though, that OP thinks X doesn't have plastic glasses in the buffet...

Every morning on Celebrity I pop down to the OVC buffet for 2 mimosas for breakfast and take them back to the room.
 

Never served in a plastic glass.

I’ve attached a screenshot of my wine glass at rear of the buffet for lunch on Solstice last year.

 

Glass not plastic.

Edited April 17 by swjumbo

[Beamafar]

Utilising plastic glasses is one of the downsides of the MSC buffet. However, it’s a safety issue, as people do bring their beverages out to the pool area.

 

 

[Oxo]

It is a good thing that there is more than one cruise line. That allows us to have a choice.

When comparing cruise lines many people use different criteria.

When I pick a cruise, I have no favorite and I am not a cheerleader for a specific line.

Some people find fault or complain about trivial the things. 

This is a real funny subject. LOL