Celebrity Cruiser Looking to try Princess! Help!

[cheeseheads4ever]

We have cruised Celebrity Cruises for about 15 cruises. We are looking to try Princess. How would you compare Princess to Celebrity?

We are low maintenance cruisers. Love balcony’s, drink packages. Always looking for a good deal. Not so much into specialty dining unless MDR food is bad.

Can you compare!

food

drinks

entertainment

service

Anything that Princess has that Celebrity doesn’t. Of course you would have to have sailed both cruise lines to know.

Any help would be greatly appreciated..

[memoak]

Well one difference is that Princess allows smoking one one side of casino slot machines. There are times if it is crowded I can’t stay long in that side

 

[doghog]

Princess has the Plus and Premier Beverage Packages. Better than Celebrity's current Classic and Premium Beverage Packages. Princess has more evening entertainment than Celebrity. Princess uses the medallions instead of SeaPass cards. Celebrity's loyalty program is a lot better than Princess. You can't go to your cain when you first get on a Princess ship. Cabins open up at ~1:PM. Smoking is allowed in the Princess casinos at all times. Our experience with service is the same. Food, subjective. Princess ships have shower curtains and not glass doors on their cabin showers. 

Edited May 1 by doghog

[memoak]

13 minutes ago, doghog said:

Princess has the Plus and Premier Beverage Packages. Better than Celebrity's current Classic and Premium Beverage Packages. Princess has more evening entertainment than Celebrity. Princess uses the medallions instead of SeaPass cards. Celebrity's loyalty program is a lot better than Princess. You can't go to your cain when you first get on a Princess ship. Cabins open up at ~1:PM. Smoking is allowed in the Princess casinos at all times. Our experience with service is the same. Food, subjective. Princess ships have shower curtains and not glass doors on their cabin showers. 

Suites have large showers with glass doors on Princess

[beltsbear]

Been on both many times.  Celebrity feels less crowded. Main dining are similar in quality unless you are used to aqua class, which has better dining then princess. Service seems similar on both lines.  We love celebrity aqua but it simply is just too expensive and now we have done three princess in a row, with princess premier to get the top drink package.  Still there are big variations in both lines, where newer ships are better on both lines. So I would rather be on a celebrity edge class vs a 15 year old princess ship, or a newer princess ship vs an older milenium class celebrity. 

[beltsbear]

33 minutes ago, doghog said:

Princess has the Plus and Premier Beverage Packages. Better than Celebrity's current Classic and Premium Beverage Packages. Princess has more evening entertainment than Celebrity. Princess uses the medallions instead of SeaPass cards. Celebrity's loyalty program is a lot better than Princess. You can't go to your cain when you first get on a Princess ship. Cabins open up at ~1:PM. Smoking is allowed in the Princess casinos at all times. Our experience with service is the same. Food, subjective. Princess ships have shower curtains and not glass doors on their cabin showers. 

Yes, loyalty on celebrity got us a free bag of laundry each 7 days after just five cruises.  That’s not gonna happen till maybe our 12 cruise on princess. 

[Moondogy]

Just now, beltsbear said:

Yes, loyalty on celebrity got us a free bag of laundry each 7 days after just five cruises.  That’s not gonna happen till maybe our 12 cruise on princess. 

After 15 cruises.

[disgirl]

Princess caps their beverage packages at 15 alcoholic beverages per day.  Celebrity doesn't.

I find Princess to have more shellfish/seafood options in the MDR than Celebrity.

Food taste is subjective - I enjoy it on both lines.

Entertainment is subjective - I don't like the evening production shows on either line.

I like that Celebrity has traditional dining - although Princess is bringing it back this fall (YAY!)

I find the cabin sizes on Princess larger, but I find the bathroom sizes on Celebrity larger.

[lahlah57]

54 minutes ago, doghog said:

Princess has the Plus and Premier Beverage Packages. Better than Celebrity's current Classic and Premium Beverage Packages. Princess has more evening entertainment than Celebrity. Princess uses the medallions instead of SeaPass cards. Celebrity's loyalty program is a lot better than Princess. You can't go to your cain when you first get on a Princess ship. Cabins open up at ~1:PM. Smoking is allowed in the Princess casinos at all times. Our experience with service is the same. Food, subjective. Princess ships have shower curtains and not glass doors on their cabin showers. 

Yup those shower curtains always give me the weebie jeebies! It feels yucky when it touches you! 😫 

[RV Queen]

Princess has a self use laundry room on each floor. Only costs a couple of bucks. Way nice to wash cloths through out cruise. And pack clean clothes for home.  

[Torfamm]

Princess has self-service laundry which is great on longer trips as well as much larger closets. 
 

The ability to order food and drinks wherever you are is a huge plus with their medallion technology. I also like being able to find other members of my party.

 

Chatting with guest services in the app can also be a big time saver 

[SKCruiser007]

I describe Princess as sophisticated casual. Celebrity is edgy and "hip."

 

I think the "cool kids" sail on Celebrity. Going on a Princess cruise, to me, is like going to our lake cabin - it's comfortable, I know where everything is, and I'm surrounded by people who share interests with me. 

 

I just prefer Princess, and I think the fares are a good value. We have taken the Plus or Premier package almost every time since the restart. We usually have a couple of glasses of wine with dinner and another cocktail before the show. That's enough for us to see value in the packages. We like the casual meals at Vines and Alfredo's.

 

[reedprincess]

Princess has the Plus and Premier Cruise Packages, which are much more comprehensive than Celebrity's All In packages.

The Cruise Packages include their respective beverage packages, WiFi (1 or 4 devices), daily gratuity/Crew Appreciation, casual dining, room service delivery fee, Ocean Now activation fee (this is for using the app to order food/drinks to delivery virtually anywhere aboard), plus some other things like medallion shipping, juice bar, premium desserts, exercise classes and so forth .  Celebrity doesn't have anything as a package that compares.  Win for Princess.

 

The standalone Plus or Premier beverage packages (either included in the Cruise Package bundles or on their own), cover 15 alcoholic drinks q day up to $15/20usd respectively.   Non-alcoholic beverages are unlimited - Celebrity wins there with the unlimited aspect for anything covered under their Classic or Premium beverage packages.

 

Food - subjective. If you've enjoyed the food in buffet/MDR on Celebrity, you'll likely enjoy on Princess also.  Celebrity has somewhat more options and more variety, particularly on Edge class ships, but Princess does pasta sand and fish quite well (usually), and there's enough choice.

 

International Cafe on Princess beats Cafe al Bacio, hands down. Open 24/7, food is all included with exception of gelato and the premium cakes (large 7 layer cake slices and such).   Specialty coffees and teas at charge, included in Cruise and beverage packages..

 

Room Service menu is more extensive on Princess, including being able to order a la carte from the specialty restaurants.  And the delivery fee is cheaper, with no 18% added like Celebrity.  And, if you purchase one of the Cruise Packages, room service and ON delivery/activation is included. This includes drinks to your cabin, handy when enjoying your balcony..  win for Princess, IMO.

 

Decor - more traditional on Princess, more contemporary on Celebrity.. wash - depends on your taste.

 

Standard balcony cabins -  way more storage on Princess, at the expense of a sofa.  The walk-in closets separating the bathroom from the bedroom and providing a small entry hall of sorts is wonderful, particularly on longer cruises where more clothes, etc come into olay..Showers are similar size - except Princess has shower curtains.   

If you're wanting a sofa, depend I on ship type, you'll either be looking at a Deluxe Balcony cabin, or a mini-suite 

****Caveat - Sun Princess now has an ottoman or sofa in every single cabin type, much smaller nightstands (like Edge class) and much smaller closets - and rectangular glass shower door shower (larger than the Edge and Solstice capsules)****. 

Cabin category - a wash for us. Prefer the setup on Princess, and a Deluxe Balcony is our sweet spot, but happily sail insides, OV, Suites, etc depending on itinerary, etc. 

Celebrity does suites better, by far. The new Sun Princess is an attempt at a sort of ship within a ship - they're not there yet.  

 

Activities - 6 of one, half dozen of the other. Similar on both, although over all, I'd say Princess has a little more to do, including more sports and the Movies Under the Stars.. game shows, audience participation activities, shows, comedy, trivia, etc. 

 

Service - friendly and helpful on both.  Officers are more visible on Celebrity - it's literally in their work day hours and descriptions for walk around time, guest interaction time, etc. There's some few interaction times on Princess, ie guest versus crew type games, but otherwise, officers are busy and not as visible.  The rest of the crew : both lines do well.

Overall, Princess gets the nod, for whatever reason, they just seem more personable and interact a little more, ie bartenders having time to chat with you a bit, or buffet servers chatting a little, things like that.  

 

Medallion - this is a big win for me. The app works great for me, love the wristband and medallion combo, and absolutely miss it whenever I sail Celebrity, MSc, RCCL.. 

 

The lines are more alike than different really..  Celebrity has definitely been the more expensive of the two for a while - drinks, specialty dining, room service delivery, etc - Princess is trying to catch up, lol.. 

 

If you've like Celebrity - Princess may be a very good fit, for less $$$.  

Try one of the newer ships though - Royal and up.   

Happy sails!

[capriccio]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Suites have large showers with glass doors on Princess

And the new Sun Princess has shower glass doors in all cabins (finally!).

[Honolulu Blue]

3 hours ago, beltsbear said:

I would rather be on a celebrity edge class vs a 15 year old princess ship, or a newer princess ship vs an older milenium class celebrity. 

I'm the complete opposite - I like the Millennium and Summit, which are both in the same class. I haven't sailed on any other Celebrity ships, but I like them well enough.

 

On the other hand, I've done two Royal class ships and the Ruby. I liked the bigger, newer Princess ships better.

 

3 hours ago, beltsbear said:

Yes, loyalty on celebrity got us a free bag of laundry each 7 days after just five cruises.  That’s not gonna happen till maybe our 12 cruise on princess. 

I got half off on Internet on Princess on my third cruise. I value that much more highly than a bag of laundry, which I ordinarily don't do on cruises of 7 days or less. It's all about priorities.

[doghog]

12 hours ago, beltsbear said:

Yes, loyalty on celebrity got us a free bag of laundry each 7 days after just five cruises.  That’s not gonna happen till maybe our 12 cruise on princess. 

Also Celebrity's CC HH drinks from 5 to 7 PM is a plus (no charge) if you don't purchase a Beverage Package. Celebrity's CC priority tendering at tender ports. 90/240 minutes of  complimentary internet. We like the Princess CC gathers every evening for CC HH. I think it stinks you are charged for drinks. BP works great for that instead of paying for the drinks at the event. Celebrity did away with the CC HH in a lounge in the evening for awhile but has brought the CC HH  back in a lounge but not for every night. We like the differences and similarities between Princess, Celebrity and RC. 

Edited May 1 by doghog

[capriccio]

12 hours ago, beltsbear said:

Yes, loyalty on celebrity got us a free bag of laundry each 7 days after just five cruises.  That’s not gonna happen till maybe our 12 cruise on princess. 

Unlimited free laundry happens with elite status (after 15 cruises or 150 days cruising on Princess).  That can be a significant perk especially if you take long cruises.

[memoak]

3 minutes ago, capriccio said:

Unlimited free laundry happens with elite status (after 15 cruises or 150 days cruising on Princess).  That can be a significant perk especially if you take long cruises.

Except that everything is waged on hot. If you have delicate material use the self serve for that. Was and dry $6 if you bring your own detergent 

[Lady Arwen]

 My big issue with Princess is that smoking is allowed in the casino and it wafts out into the other public areas.  If you stay in the casino, even for just a few minutes, your hair and your clothes reek of smoke. The bathrooms on Princess, unless you’re in a suite, are tiny with awful shower curtains.  It’s dreadful!  We’re doing one last Princess cruise in August and cancelled the rest.  Just rebooked them all on Celebrity.  We’re Elite on Celebrity, so we get some nice benefits. I really tried to like Princess and gave them a fair shot, but my DH has said enough is enough.  

[memoak]

15 minutes ago, doghog said:

Also Celebrity's CC HH drinks from 5 to 7 PM is a plus (no charge) if you don't purchase a Beverage Package. Celebrity's CC priority tendering at tender ports. 90/240 minutes of  complimentary internet. We like the Princess CC gathers every evening for CC HH. I think it stinks you are charged for drinks. BP works great for that instead of paying for the drinks at the event. Celebrity did away with the CC HH in a lounge in the evening for awhile but has brought the CC HH  back in a lounge but not for every night. We like the differences and similarities between Princess, Celebrity and RC. 

Why do you think you should get free drinks you already have a mini bar for free. I have cruised Princess for over 30 years and this has never been the case

[Lady Arwen]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

Except that everything is waged on hot. If you have delicate material use the self serve for that. Was and dry $6 if you bring your own detergent 

When we use the laundry service on Celebrity we attach a note to the bag to wash in cool water and low dryer.  It always comes back perfectly!

[doghog]

9 minutes ago, memoak said:

Why do you think you should get free drinks you already have a mini bar for free. I have cruised Princess for over 30 years and this has never been the case

Just making the comparison where IMO, Celebrity CC is much better for that than Princess CC. A nice touch for a couple of hours. Elite and above. That would depend on your Princess CC tier level. Should be Platinum and Elite get at no charge drinks in the lounge during the CC HH.

Edited May 1 by doghog

[Torfamm]

8 minutes ago, memoak said:

Why do you think you should get free drinks you already have a mini bar for free. I have cruised Princess for over 30 years and this has never been the case

I’d much rather have free drinks for a couple of hours a day than the mini-bar. Trading it out for what you want is a nuisance for room service as well as guests. A discount on the Plus package or an OBC would be even better 😉

[doghog]

15 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

My big issue with Princess is that smoking is allowed in the casino and it wafts out into the other public areas.

Agree. Plus having limited smoking areas in the casino is a big joke. 🙄 Doesn't help with the smell. 

[no1talks]

12 hours ago, Torfamm said:

"The ability to order food and drinks wherever you are is a huge plus with their medallion technology."

 

We've not been on a Princess cruise. My wife and I are MSC fans and we are curious about the medallion system.

 

How are the delivery times? Drinks still fresh and food still hot? Thank you.