Celebrity vs Princess

[iceleven]

On 4/27/2024 at 9:25 AM, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

It doesn’t happen very often. The one time they moved our cabin was on my 50th and they upgraded us to a suite. You can mark “do not upgrade”. We’ve sailed 35 times with Princess and never moved other than the above. 

Yes very important to have your booking marked DO NOT UPGRADE.

[NMTraveller]

18 minutes ago, iceleven said:

Yes very important to have your booking marked DO NOT UPGRADE.

Do the majority of upgrades end up badly?  I have only had two.  One on Royal  and one on Celebrity.  They were both better...

[Beamafar]

What categories of cabins have people booked and what were they upgraded to?

[iceleven]

I've only cruised Celebrity once, on the Silhouette, and found the ship beautiful and preferred it over our previous experiences on the Grand Class Princess ships and Royal. However, I find the cabins on Princess more roomy and I prefer the closet/dressing area on Princess over the smaller closet in the cabin on Celebrity. I also don't care for the storage area above the bed on Celebrity as I am only 5'1" and found it difficult to use that additional space without having to ask my husband to retrieve what I needed.

 

I prefer the buffet on Celebrity over Princess. The variety and selections are superior, at least to my standards.

We will continue to cruise both and add an Azamara in between to just keep things more interesting.

 

[Retired-N-Happy]

As a background we have cruised on X nine times on each class of ship and five of them have been recent cruises on the Edge Class.  On Princess we have cruised on them four times, all on the Royal Class.  

There are two things that no longer bring us value on X.  One, the differences between the drink packages.  On Princess, it's a maximum of 15.00 per drink.  You can get an espresso martini or a craft cocktail at Good Spirits at Sea.  On X, it's 10.00 maximum per drink and bar type whiskey, topping out with Bacardi run or Absolute vodka.  Not even Tito's.  A Blue Moon or a Michelob Ultra is 7.50 on Princess and covered.  On X, they are 11.00 and not covered.  11.00 for a Michelob Ultra is highway robbery.

Because of the weakness of the basic package on X, I used to upgrade for 12.00 per day for just myself, since my DW enjoyed Sex on the Beach with Tito's, which used to be covered, but changed sometime in early 2023 prior to our 18 day B2B on the Beyond. If you wish to upgrade now, the price has doubled to 24.00 pp per day with gratuities.  So what used to cost 12 for one is now 48 for two.

In combination with this additional cost, X has removed staff gratuities so that's an additional 16 bucks pp per day that you need to pay on X versus it bring included in the Plus or Premier packages on Princess.

We really enjoyed the cutting edge attributes on the Edge Class but because of the additional 80 per day per couple for the drink package upgrade and the tips, combined with the usual higher price most of the time for the cruise, X is now in our rear view mirror while we have 11 cruises booked on the Enchanted Princess, Sun Princess and Star Princess over the next 21 months.

Edited May 5 by Retired-N-Happy

[iceleven]

5 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Do the majority of upgrades end up badly?  I have only had two.  One on Royal  and one on Celebrity.  They were both better...

Even with an upgraded cabin you might end up in an area that is noisy or require a longer walk than you prefer.

[prmssk]

Big picture - they are more alike than different and so I'm not surprised that different people will have a different preference for which one they prefer.  Both offer a pretty solid product.

 

I will personally never sail the Caribbean Princess again.  When we were on her in 2022, it had so many maintenance issues that it actually did affect things daily and this was about a month after its dry dock when you think they would have addressed maintenance issues.  (And for the record, I'm not the type to notice or complain about things like rust, torn curtains, etc. so I'm talking about significant issues like AC, plumbing, elevators, etc.). I hope these issues have since been addressed but it just left a sour enough taste in our mouth for the ship that we will avoid it in the future.

 

Aside from that one ship, we have two issues that make us hesitate booking Princess for future cruises.  First, cabin layout is really tight unless you book a mini-suite (older ships) or deluxe balcony (Royal Class) or higher.  They prioritize a huge closet over actual space to walk around or somewhere to sit.  Some may like that but it just doesn't work well for us.  It looks like the Sun Princess may address this issue for us.

 

The second thing is that they don't do as well with my food allergy.  In the MDR, I was always served food I could eat but it was usually unseasoned, flavorless, and very repetitive.  And this was across multiple ships so it wasn't just a not so great chef.  I understand they are using more pre-made sauces which make it harder to customize meals.  In the buffet, the variety is so much smaller than Celebrity which makes it harder to find things I can eat.  Of all the cruises lines we have sailed, Princess was the hardest for me to find food I enjoyed that was safe for me to eat.

 

Also, just a few thoughts on the medallion, I think the concept is very intriguing and when executed well is a huge plus.  That said, on two different ships, the technology just didn't work well for us.  Even getting our door to unlock was an issue for multiple people in our group on both ships.  We spent more time than I wanted in line at guest services getting medallions replaced and then the replacement medallion didn't always work or only had partial function.  I realize cruise cards can fail but not anywhere near the rate I've had medallion failures.  I have heard a lot more positive reviews though on the medallion from the newest ships so maybe the infrastructure is better on those that were built on the medallion technology vs those that were retrofitted.

[chisoxfan]

14 hours ago, prmssk said:

 

I will personally never sail the Caribbean Princess again.

Hate to pick on a ship but have to agree. We were on Carib Princess for a Panama Canal Cruise some years ago. The ship was old then, crew very disorganized, and the ship had a propulsion issue causing a change of ports. We were Princess fans prior to that and our bad experience prompted us to try MSC YC which was a positive eye opener. We were also X fans but the lack of balconies and cost of Retreat on Edge class  made us look again at our options. So going full circle we tried Princess (Enchanted) and had a generally positive experience.  Will try a suite on Princess Sun in early 25.  The general product (X vs. Princess) is similar ie. entertainment, food, crew but of course all of these things can be tempered by the ship itself. IMHO Princess has done some innovative things with Medallion and drink packages where X has failed with lack of balconies on new ships, pricing, and adding non-refundable deposits. Hoping the Sphere class will be a step forward for Princess unlike the Edge class which for us was a sideways move. 

 

[Eno]

Princess -

Love that they have mini suites and real balconies, Drink package - many drinks in the Plus are covered but we went with Premium for the wine choices. Was able to get doubles of scotch to bring back to the room to sip on the balcony. No issue getting a drink and also bottles of water/cans of coke. Specialty restaurants were a good price and loved the Catch by Rudy.

Did not Love - The Premium package included Ocean Terrace sushi for lunch on sea days but there was only one person making the sushi resulting in long lines and waits once you did get a table, same with premium desserts - opens at 2 pm, had one person making them and long lines starting prior to 2 pm. Found the Premium package not worth it except for the drinks.  While 15 drink limit sounds like a lot there is an issue when they charged both mine and my husbands to his account all the time, had to really watch the count on the app as if one goes over you get charged and have to go to guest services to have it refunded. Hate hate hate the call center - they made mistakes and had wrong information when upgrading the drink package. 

Celebrity -

Haven't sailed post Covid but found their buffet for breakfast and much better than Princess. Also found the MDR food much better on Celebrity - again this may have changed.

Booked next cruise with Celebrity due to the better itinerary for Norway.

Excellent call center - speak English and any requests handled correctly.

Specialty restaurants very good but too pricey now.

Drink package - while no daily limit did not allow doubles and also would not allow both a drink and water or soda.  Had to wait to get bottled water to bring back to the room, not sure if it is still that way.  Nothing included in basic package - need to upgrade for cocktails/martinis and still some over the premium package. 

Hate their pricing - having to pay more for refundable fares.  For this reason alone would pick Princess as I like to book far out and when I see something I like I put down a deposit.  I had two booked on Princess and decided later (way before the 90 days) which one I wanted as I researched ports/dates.  Did not like that tips no longer in the somewhat all included price.

 

[doghog]

52 minutes ago, Eno said:

Princess -

Love that they have mini suites and real balconies

Celebrity ships have mini (junior) suites and real balconies. 

[NMTraveller]

21 minutes ago, doghog said:

Celebrity ships have mini (junior) suites and real balconies. 

E class?  Not many real balconies.

 

Some itineraries are only E class 🙃

Edited May 6 by NMTraveller

[chisoxfan]

13 minutes ago, doghog said:

Celebrity ships have mini (junior) suites and real balconies. 

If X has 'mini suites' that is news to me. Obviously there are very limited real balconies on X Edge class ships (aft and Retreat only) and good luck finding one of those. We used to like AQ on X but don't want to book this on Edge Class because they are now IV. Everyone is different but we are gravitating to newer ships so for us X has really limited our options for a true balcony and while it is a nice product Retreat greatly disappoints us in value offered. We loved S ships on X and these were innovative but for us they may be getting long in the tooth. 

[doghog]

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

E class?  Not many real balconies.

 

Some itineraries are only E class 🙃

All class ships as @Eno didn't specify ship class or numbers. I consider DPVs and SVs real balconies on the E class ships.

Edited May 6 by doghog

[doghog]

56 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

If X has 'mini suites' that is news to me. Obviously there are very limited real balconies on X Edge class ships (aft and Retreat only) and good luck finding one of those. We used to like AQ on X but don't want to book this on Edge Class because they are now IV. Everyone is different but we are gravitating to newer ships so for us X has really limited our options for a true balcony and while it is a nice product Retreat greatly disappoints us in value offered. We loved S ships on X and these were innovative but for us they may be getting long in the tooth. 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/staterooms/suite-class/galapagos-fleet/junior-suite

 

All class ships as @Eno didn't specify ship class or numbers. I consider DPVs and SVs real balconies on the E class ships.

 

DPVs also. We had no problem getting a DPV in the location and exact cabin for our Apex and Edge cruises. 

Edited May 6 by doghog

[chisoxfan]

43 minutes ago, doghog said:

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/staterooms/suite-class/galapagos-fleet/junior-suite

 

All class ships as @Eno didn't specify ship class or numbers. I consider DPVs and SVs real balconies on the E class ships.

 

DPVs also. We had no problem getting a DPV in the location and exact cabin for our Apex and Edge cruises. 

If DPV is a balcony why does X call it a deluxe porthole view and obstructed. Those of us who have cruised for years know what a balcony is. I still have never seen a mini-suite on an Edge class ship.

SV's are the only true balconies on Edge ships (besides Retreat) and they are limited, popular, and expensive (maybe a comentary on IV's).  There are 36 SV's on Edge vs. 1400+ cabins.

For the ones who liked AQ no balconies exist on Edge class with 130AQ on S class ships. 

You can label cabins how you wish ie (see Inflation reduction act) but most cruisers can understand what constitutes a balcony.

 

 

[doghog]

38 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

If DPV is a balcony why does X call it a deluxe porthole view and obstructed. Those of us who have cruised for years know what a balcony is. I still have never seen a mini-suite on an Edge class ship.

SV's are the only true balconies on Edge ships (besides Retreat) and they are limited, popular, and expensive (maybe a comentary on IV's).  There are 36 SV's on Edge vs. 1400+ cabins.

For the ones who liked AQ no balconies exist on Edge class with 130AQ on S class ships. 

You can label cabins how you wish ie (see Inflation reduction act) but most cruisers can understand what constitutes a balcony.

 

 

We also have cruised for many years and also know exactly what a balcony is. 🙄 DPV is a balcony cabin on E class ships. Provide where Celebrity references DPVs as obstructed. We had no obstruction with our DPV on the Apex. Selected another DPV for our September Edge cruise. Why does Celebrity call IVs Infinite Verandas when IVs do not have verandas/balconies? 

 

Aagin, @Eno I quoted said nothing about any class of ships. As my answer to that person didn't specify any class of ships. Why are you assuming E class? Think M & S class ships also. 

 

 

Edited May 6 by doghog

[chisoxfan]

24 minutes ago, doghog said:

Provide where Celebrity references DPVs as obstructed.

Deck plans show DPV's as obstructed on their key.

Deck Plan Key

•  
• Obstructed View

 

[doghog]

19 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

Deck plans show DPV's as obstructed on their key.

And according to the deck plans not all DPV's are obstructed. Some yes. Also the numbers of obstructed DPVs very from the deck to deck that have DPVs. That's why I always check, no matter the class of ship.  We had 7118 on the Apex. No obstruction. Future cruise on the Edge, 7118 no obstruction. 

Edited May 6 by doghog

[chisoxfan]

35 minutes ago, doghog said:

And according to the deck plans not all DPV's are obstructed. Some yes. Also the numbers of obstructed DPVs very from the deck to deck that have DPVs. That's why I always check, no matter the class of ship.  We had 7118 on the Apex. No obstruction. Future cruise on the Edge, 7118 no obstruction. 

You win. That big metal structure with a circle cut out in front of your 'porthole veranda' isn't an obstruction. Surprised X doesn't call it an infinite porthole.  My point was that it was never a 'traditional' balcony like we have all been familair with. Like the IV some will like it and some will hate it and it is a matter of personal preference. Peace and happy cruising.

[doghog]

31 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

You win. That big metal structure with a circle cut out in front of your 'porthole veranda' isn't an obstruction. Surprised X doesn't call it an infinite porthole.  My point was that it was never a 'traditional' balcony like we have all been familair with. Like the IV some will like it and some will hate it and it is a matter of personal preference. Peace and happy cruising.

No winning. 🙃  IMO, the DPVs are not obstructed based on the porthole design. We've had that type of balcony cabin on RCs Explorer Of The Seas and they don't call theirs a Porthole veranda. Just a balcony cabin with a balcony. Back to Celebrity. My point is we could see forward/straight out like sitting on a traditionally balcony. If we wanted to see straight down, left or right or straight up we would have to be standing. Like on a traditional balcony. And at that not all traditional balconies are equal. Again depending on the class of ship and cabin category. Agree, any class of ship, cabin, etc. is all a matter of personal preference. ✌️

Edited May 6 by doghog

[Retired-N-Happy]

5 hours ago, doghog said:

Celebrity ships have mini (junior) suites and real balconies. 

On the Edge Class, their four newest ships, the only real balconies are the aft facing ones or those located in the higher end Retreat section.

[Eno]

Sorry - my post that mentioned Celebrity not having real balconies was for the Edge Class ships.  My Norway cruise for next year is on the Apex.  Would prefer Princess Sky that I was just on that was a mini-suite with a balcony as there are three of us in the cabin

[doghog]

4 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

On the Edge Class, their four newest ships, the only real balconies are the aft facing ones or those located in the higher end Retreat section.

SSS's, DPVs and SVs are real balconies on the E class ships.

[NMTraveller]

18 minutes ago, doghog said:

SSS's, DPVs and SVs are real balconies on the E class ships.

DPVs are obstructed by 30% by design according to everything that I have seen.  I would much rather have unobstructed.  Call it what you will but it IS obstructed.

Edited May 7 by NMTraveller

[doghog]

13 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

DPVs are obstructed by 30% by design according to everything that I have seen.  I would much rather have unobstructed.  Call it what you will but it IS obstructed.

Have you actually stayed in a DPV? You can call it whatever you want. I don't care. If our view isn't obstructed it's not obstructed. As long as we are on an E class ship we are good with DPVs. In our opinion, a lot better than IVs and priced better than IVs.  I agree with you and all that the balconies on the M &S class ships are a whole lot better.