Celebrity vs Princess

[Retired-N-Happy]

47 minutes ago, prmssk said:

 I also thought I had read that Good Spirits drinks are no longer included by Plus. 

I can only go by first hand experience, which was 14 days on the Discovery in April of 2022 and 14 days on the Majestic in May/June of 2023.  We were able to enjoy the special evening menu at Good Spirits and all of our drinks were in fact covered.  If by some chance they no longer are, we'll be OK since I will be using OBC from Princess and from Carnival stock to upgrade us to Premier which will give us a 20.00 limit, 2 nights of specialty meals and unlimited casual meals.

[cgolf1]

4 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

No, I am spot on with Disney.  They have no casinos on any of their ships and because they will not be getting the income flow from gamblers this is just one of the reasons why Disney cruises are so much more expensive than other main stream cruise lines. They need to charge more to make up for the guaranteed profit from gamblers that they don't have since they don't have casinos.

 

So you know more than someone who sailed Disney for many years at very good prices mind you and watched the perks changes and price increases happen that were far outpacing their competition? It somewhat mirrors what Celebrity is starting to do. It started on Disney at the suite level and has now hit all levels, again that appears to be the same with X now.

[asctony]

8 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Celebrity's prices are off the wall compared to Princess's.  On Princess a Blue Moon and a Michelob Ultra are 7.50.  On X they are 11.00 and not covered by the basic package.  Any way you cut it 11.00 for a Michelob Ultra is highway robbery.

I fully agree with your posting.Celebrity is totally overpriced on their drinks. Overpriced on their Specialty Restaurants, too. Yes, people who cruise other lines see the differences.

 

Any business will charge what people will be willing to pay. How many people really care what the price is when they are in vacation?

 

That is a reason some will pay and others will not. We have choices and our money talks.

 

No one forces us to pay or buy anything! So, it is your choice and mine. 

Happy Cruising!

 

 

 

[Retired-N-Happy]

19 minutes ago, cgolf1 said:

 

So you know more than someone who sailed Disney for many years at very good prices mind you and watched the perks changes and price increases happen that were far outpacing their competition? It somewhat mirrors what Celebrity is starting to do. It started on Disney at the suite level and has now hit all levels, again that appears to be the same with X now.

All I said was that Disney doesn't have casinos on them and that could be one of the reasons why they charge more.  Now, if Disney all of a sudden has casinos on board, then I am wrong.

 

So, does any Disney ship currently have a casino?

[Retired-N-Happy]

18 minutes ago, asctony said:

I fully agree with your posting.Celebrity is totally overpriced on their drinks. Overpriced on their Specialty Restaurants, too. Yes, people who cruise other lines see the differences.

 

Any business will charge what people will be willing to pay. How many people really care what the price is when they are in vacation?

 

That is a reason some will pay and others will not. We have choices and our money talks.

 

No one forces us to pay or buy anything! So, it is your choice and mine. 

Happy Cruising!

 

 

 

Yea, it seems like X is leaning towards a younger clientele that has bottomless pockets and will just shell out for the premium drink package, specialty dining and whatever else they want.  We do B2B'S and on our 18 days on the Encore last November we decided that X was in our rearview mirror.  What really got me was when my DW ordered a Mich Ultra and I found out there was a 1.20 charge since it was 11.00 and not covered on the basic package.

[asctony]

6 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Yea, it seems like X is leaning towards a younger clientele that has bottomless pockets and will just shell out for the premium drink package, specialty dining and whatever else they want.  We do B2B'S and on our 18 days on the Encore last November we decided that X was in our rearview mirror.  What really got me was when my DW ordered a Mich Ultra and I found out there was a 1.20 charge since it was 11.00 and not covered on the basic package.

FYI - we cruise CELEBRITY, MSC, NCL, PRINCESS & RCI each year. We are fortunate to be able to do so. 

Celebrity is totally reducing perks & at the same time increasing prices.

We have Beyond B2B  this year and Equinox TA next year. So, we like some things and don't spend money on overpriced items.

Celebrity can't even keep their Bar Menus in sync. What does IT do? 

LOL

HAPPY CRUISING!

[NMTraveller]

13 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

It shouldn't be "expected" anywhere. But my guess is that the parents at the land resort were doing more parenting than the parents on the cruise. I guess they figure there's only so far they can go on a ship so they don't keep as tight a reign on them, but I don't know.

 

At any rate, it comes down to parenting rather than type of vacation. I'd guess there have been some 5 star resorts where parents are more "hands off" and kids run just as there have been cruise ships where parents were more aware of what their kids were doing and stop silliness.

Well I think that some of it has to do with lack of enforcement of rules. There will be staff on the ship.  They can either tell the kids to quit running in the halls or ignore it.  We had people in the OVC with no shirts.  No enforcement there either ...

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

47 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Well I think that some of it has to do with lack of enforcement of rules. There will be staff on the ship.  They can either tell the kids to quit running in the halls or ignore it.  We had people in the OVC with no shirts.  No enforcement there either ...

Who is enforcing at an all-inclusive though? I’d imagine their employees are just as hesitant to do anything to result in parents complaining that their little dears are being stifled - and worse that someone was “rude” to them for merely asking them not to run.
 

Again, it bottom line depends on the parents and if they are willing to parent.

[doghog]

5 hours ago, prmssk said:

I also thought I had read that Good Spirits drinks are no longer included by Plus

We were on the Enchanted 27 March - 6 April 2024. We both had the Plus package and got drinks at Good Spirits. 

[cgolf1]

4 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

All I said was that Disney doesn't have casinos on them and that could be one of the reasons why they charge more.  Now, if Disney all of a sudden has casinos on board, then I am wrong.

 

So, does any Disney ship currently have a casino?

 

No and they didn't have them before they started to raise their prices is my point. But you want to be right so have at it. IMO the price increases and perks reductions were done for other reasons and not the casinos. We were guilty of spending way to much on merchandise on Disney ships, it flies out of the shops. Other lines probably sell a fraction of what Disney does. Not a casino, but it is extra cash for them.

 

Celebrity is doing the same thing now, What is their excuse? I know the boards were talking about the higher suite prices and less perks, and now in 2026 we are definitely seeing price increases in the inside rooms. Our inside room for 2025 was a good but not great price on the eclipse. 

 

All in all, I think it is a race to see how much people will pay and the cruise lines will still sail at capacity, once they hit the tipping point they may back off. The danger for all lines, but especially Disney and Celebrity that have/had a good reputation, the more people pay, their level of expectation rises. Just see this board when the suites had perks like butlers removed when they are paying more this year, it wasn't pretty.

[Retired-N-Happy]

1 hour ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Again, it bottom line depends on the parents and if they are willing to parent.

Well Beth the major problem is that many parents take a vacation from parenting while on vacation.  While Mommy sits poolside sucking down a Pina Colada they let their precious little darlings run rampant.  They're on a cruise so they can't get lost, right?

[Retired-N-Happy]

4 minutes ago, cgolf1 said:

 

No and they didn't have them before they started to raise their prices is my point. But you want to be right so have at it. IMO the price increases and perks reductions were done for other reasons and not the casinos. We were guilty of spending way to much on merchandise on Disney ships, it flies out of the shops. Other lines probably sell a fraction of what Disney does. Not a casino, but it is extra cash for them.

 

Celebrity is doing the same thing now, What is their excuse? I know the boards were talking about the higher suite prices and less perks, and now in 2026 we are definitely seeing price increases in the inside rooms. Our inside room for 2025 was a good but not great price on the eclipse. 

 

All in all, I think it is a race to see how much people will pay and the cruise lines will still sail at capacity, once they hit the tipping point they may back off. The danger for all lines, but especially Disney and Celebrity that have/had a good reputation, the more people pay, their level of expectation rises. Just see this board when the suites had perks like butlers removed when they are paying more this year, it wasn't pretty.

I will be right because you inferred something that wasn't in my initial post.  All I was saying was that Disney doesn't have casinos which is a major money maker for the cruise lines.  I personally don't care about Disney since I never have and never will cruise on them.  Don't care about X either since my ninth cruise on them was my last.  The only reason I came to this thread was to try to educate any X cruisers that have never cruised on Princess that Princess provides great value these days with their packages, unlike X.  Happy sailing.

[cgolf1]

22 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

I will be right because you inferred something that wasn't in my initial post.  All I was saying was that Disney doesn't have casinos which is a major money maker for the cruise lines.  I personally don't care about Disney since I never have and never will cruise on them.  Don't care about X either since my ninth cruise on them was my last.  The only reason I came to this thread was to try to educate any X cruisers that have never cruised on Princess that Princess provides great value these days with their packages, unlike X.  Happy sailing.

 

Maybe we will cross paths on Princess sometime, as long as our upcoming cruise is a good one that will be our first choice for cruising.

[Retired-N-Happy]

2 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

 

Maybe we will cross paths on Princess sometime, as long as our upcoming cruise is a good one that will be our first choice for cruising.

You never know.  Currently have 28 days booked on the Sun, 28 days booked on the Star and 35 days booked on the Enchanted.  

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

9 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Well Beth the major problem is that many parents take a vacation from parenting while on vacation.  While Mommy sits poolside sucking down a Pina Colada they let their precious little darlings run rampant.  They're on a cruise so they can't get lost, right?

 

That was my point.

 

They can suck down pina coladas just as easily at an AI resort - they *might* keep a closer eye on them there since there's a larger area and more possibility of getting lost...or they might take a nanny with them to watch the kiddos.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

9 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

I will be right because you inferred something that wasn't in my initial post.  All I was saying was that Disney doesn't have casinos which is a major money maker for the cruise lines.  I personally don't care about Disney since I never have and never will cruise on them.  Don't care about X either since my ninth cruise on them was my last.  The only reason I came to this thread was to try to educate any X cruisers that have never cruised on Princess that Princess provides great value these days with their packages, unlike X.  Happy sailing.

$600 USD pp in balcony for 12 nights is pretty good valve 

so have a nice day 

[Retired-N-Happy]

8 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

That was my point.

 

They can suck down pina coladas just as easily at an AI resort - they *might* keep a closer eye on them there since there's a larger area and more possibility of getting lost...or they might take a nanny with them to watch the kiddos.

When we go to an all inclusive, we don't have to worry about rug rats since we only do adult all inclusive.  We don't have the inclination to cruise Virgin or the money to cruise Viking, so we are stuck with the kids while we cruise.  Been cruising since 1986 and it seems that over the years, the parenting skills have become much more lackadaisical over the years.

[Retired-N-Happy]

7 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

$600 USD pp in balcony for 12 nights is pretty good valve 

so have a nice day 

What are you talking about Mark?  A little more context as to the point you're attempting to make would enable an intelligent back and forth happen.  Making an out of context statement brings nothing to the table and this thread comparing X and Princess.  And it's value, not valve.

Edited May 9 by Retired-N-Happy

[Ex-Airbalancer]

20 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

What are you talking about Mark?  A little more context as to the point you're attempting to make would enable an intelligent back and forth happen.  Making an out of context statement brings nothing to the table and this thread comparing X and Princess.  And it's value, not valve.

Just commenting on your statement about value

“Princess provides great value these days with their packages, unlike X”

[Retired-N-Happy]

11 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Just commenting on your statement about value

“Princess provides great value these days with their packages, unlike X”

Once again since your statement was just an arbitrary statement about a balcony cabin, I guess I will have to infer that it's a cabin on an unnamed Celebrity ship.  

 

Since we prefer to sail on new ships with a package, there is nothing for us that X currently provides that brings us value since their basic package provides bar level alcohol and no longer includes gratuities . Have sailed on them nine times since the 90's on each class of ship they have.  Will not sail on them again.  Sorry to ruffle the feathers of the Celebrity faithful, but many loyal X cruisers have left the flock for greener pastures based upon the recent changes that Celebrity has made.

 

Enjoy your last minute deal with no package on your unnamed ship in the Celebrity fleet.

Edited May 9 by Retired-N-Happy

[TinyG]

We are getting on the Edge on this Saturday. We always book another cruise while on board. This time we won't. We booked Princess for the first time. X did not have much for Scotland in 2025. So booked a 12 day with the Premium package, got a bump out cabin on Deck 8 over the shops.

 

We also booked a quick 5 day for our 40th anniversary in October.  My sister and BIL & parents all sail and seem to really like Princess. I can use our OBC from being a stockholder, which will be nice. Fingers crossed!

[Retired-N-Happy]

46 minutes ago, TinyG said:

We are getting on the Edge on this Saturday. We always book another cruise while on board. This time we won't. We booked Princess for the first time. X did not have much for Scotland in 2025. So booked a 12 day with the Premium package, got a bump out cabin on Deck 8 over the shops.

 

We also booked a quick 5 day for our 40th anniversary in October.  My sister and BIL & parents all sail and seem to really like Princess. I can use our OBC from being a stockholder, which will be nice. Fingers crossed!

You'll get 100 in OBC with your 12 day and 50 with your 5 day.  Is the 5 day on the Sun?

[TinyG]

7 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

You'll get 100 in OBC with your 12 day and 50 with your 5 day.  Is the 5 day on the Sun?

No on the Majestic to Mexico. Scotland is the Regal.

 

Funny story we went to Australia we did a 3 Sprit day in between 2 cruises (10 day AU & 18 day Transpacific SYD-HNL). It was the laundry cruise vs hotel stay...We ended up getting 100 OBC we had to book the Princess back in 2017 we made out on that mixup. Only 4 whole platinums...we were 3 & 4 on the ship. We were gone 36 days, we had laundry!

[Kineticoh20]

On 4/19/2024 at 3:50 AM, Cruise a holic said:

We are elite plus on celebrity and diamond plus on Royal.  We have sailed three times on Princess, and the ships, service and food do not compare to Celebrity or Royal.  We consider Princess on par with Carnival and NCL- not for us.

We have sailed all you mentioned and Princess at least for us is the sweet spot, better in most ways compared to RC and some to X

[ScottC4746]

On 5/9/2024 at 12:07 PM, Retired-N-Happy said:

When we go to an all inclusive, we don't have to worry about rug rats since we only do adult all inclusive.  We don't have the inclination to cruise Virgin or the money to cruise Viking, so we are stuck with the kids while we cruise.  Been cruising since 1986 and it seems that over the years, the parenting skills have become much more lackadaisical over the years.

When we did the Solstice in Alaska in September 2022 we had kids but nothing like RCCL running all over the place like they owned the ship, then again school had just started back so no school holidays.  We ALWAYS avoid spring break if we can.