Celebrity Cruiser Looking to try Princess! Help!

[beshears]

Reedprincess, I like your posting on this subject. We were on the Regal for the first time and really enjoyed it for the most part.

[doghog]

1 hour ago, swjumbo said:

We found the Royal class ship layout very confusing despite being 55 & 40 something.

Take 5, a Jazz venue is on deck 7! why?
Nowhere at the front of the ship to look out apart from The Sanctuary, which was lovely but you have to pay for access.

The elevators are confusing and one button only activates one or two elevators.

The Vista lounge has no view to talk of.

Theatre is small and not as opulent as any Celebrity ships.

No natural flow to the ship whatsoever.
 

I think we only mentioned the ‘C’ word (celebrity) around twenty times per hour! lol

Of course Celebrity is being mentioned a lot. As it should be. OP is requesting comparisons between Celebrity and Princess. 😁

Edited May 1 by doghog

[swjumbo]

30 minutes ago, doghog said:

Of course Celebrity is being mentioned a lot. As it should be. OP is requesting comparisons between Celebrity and Princess. 😁

Please re read my post.

WE, my partner and I on our first Princess trip, mentioned Celebrity at least 20 times per hour!

[kywildcatfanone]

20 hours ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

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..

We have been on 2 celebrity cruises and 30 with Princess. They are very similar.  The service on Celebrity was overall better, but I like the ship layout on Princess better, especially the pool decks.

Celebrity food is overall a little better, but not significant. 

[Cruise Raider]

We did a side by side cruise last year on Celebrity and then crossed over to a different terminal in the same port to board a Princess ship.  
Our comparisons of the two were stark for us! 
There were some definite advantages to Celebrity but our go to line is now Princess.  
 

The atmosphere being bright and light goes to Princess.  
The food options and alternate dining and snack venues also go to Princess. 
The comfy beds, definitely go to Princess. 

The open closet design goes to Princess. 
The lower cost pricing goes to Princess.  
The WiFi goes to Princess by a mile. 
Constant activities and events goes to Princess.  

Food is subjective but I have to go with Princess for us.  

The stemware / glass wear goes to Celebrity.  
The captains circle happy hour goes to Celebrity.  

Entertainment venues goes to Celebrity. 
The larger staterooms with a seating area goes to Celebrity.

The stateroom bathrooms go to Celebrity. 
The non-smoking in the casino is a huge Celebrity win!  

Our bottom line is that we choose Princess almost exclusively now.  We would love for them to cut all indoor smoking areas .. that’s still a big sticking point for us.  But all in all, they have overtaken Celebrity as our favorite cruiseline.  
We love the inclusions on the Plus package on the Crown/Grand class ships and the Premier package on the Royal class ships.  
 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1 by Cruise Raider

[Muffinz]

My understanding is that in Aus / NZ there is no smoking permitted in the casino on Princess ships - can someone confirm this?

 

Our only cruise to date was on Celebrity Solstice in 2018 and we loved it - and we're booked on Crown Princess in December 2024, so it will be interesting to compare 

We probably won't use the casino - unless we have to go through there to get to another part of the ship.

 

we priced a similar cruise on Celebrity in Dec 2024 and Princess was way cheaper

 

[Lady Arwen]

9 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

We did a side by side cruise last year on Celebrity and then crossed over to a different terminal in the same port to board a Princess ship.  
Our comparisons of the two were stark for us! 
There were some definite advantages to Celebrity but our go to line is now Princess.  
 

The atmosphere being bright and light goes to Princess.  
The food options and alternate dining and snack venues also go to Princess. 
The comfy beds, definitely go to Princess. 

The open closet design goes to Princess. 
The lower cost pricing goes to Princess.  
The WiFi goes to Princess by a mile. 
Constant activities and events goes to Princess.  

Food is subjective but I have to go with Princess for us.  

The stemware / glass wear goes to Celebrity.  
The captains circle happy hour goes to Celebrity.  

Entertainment venues goes to Celebrity. 
The larger staterooms with a seating area goes to Celebrity.

The stateroom bathrooms go to Celebrity. 
The non-smoking in the casino is a huge Celebrity win!  

Our bottom line is that we choose Princess almost exclusively now.  We would love for them to cut all indoor smoking areas .. that’s still a big sticking point for us.  But all in all, they have overtaken Celebrity as our favorite cruiseline.  
We love the inclusions on the Plus package on the Crown/Grand class ships and the Premier package on the Royal class ships.  
 

 

 

 

 

A very fair comparison, thank you for that.  We’ve gone in the other direction and will now sail exclusively with Celebrity, with perhaps the odd Princess, if a particular sailing catches our eye.  Everyone has their own preferences and wants, needs and desires.  Celebrity ticks all the boxes for us and Princess does it for you.  I love that with cruising there’s something for everyone!

[Ken the cruiser]

22 hours ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

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..

Rule #1 when thinking about trying another cruise line, don’t ask for comparisons with any other cruise line. But I will say this. Both Princess and HAL, and on rare occasions NCL, put more thought into creating their longer itinerary combinations than Celebrity with their cookie-cutter 4-11 day itineraries. 😁

[reedprincess]

1 hour ago, Muffinz said:

My understanding is that in Aus / NZ there is no smoking permitted in the casino on Princess ships - can someone confirm this?

 

Our only cruise to date was on Celebrity Solstice in 2018 and we loved it - and we're booked on Crown Princess in December 2024, so it will be interesting to compare 

We probably won't use the casino - unless we have to go through there to get to another part of the ship.

 

we priced a similar cruise on Celebrity in Dec 2024 and Princess was way cheaper

 

Correct. No indoor smoking on any ship sailing out of Australia/NZ.   Casino, etc will be all smoke free.  

[doghog]

3 hours ago, swjumbo said:

Please re read my post.

WE, my partner and I on our first Princess trip, mentioned Celebrity at least 20 times per hour!

Got it. ✌️

[doghog]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

We did a side by side cruise last year on Celebrity and then crossed over to a different terminal in the same port to board a Princess ship.  
Our comparisons of the two were stark for us! 
There were some definite advantages to Celebrity but our go to line is now Princess.  
 

The atmosphere being bright and light goes to Princess.  
The food options and alternate dining and snack venues also go to Princess. 
The comfy beds, definitely go to Princess. 

The open closet design goes to Princess. 
The lower cost pricing goes to Princess.  
The WiFi goes to Princess by a mile. 
Constant activities and events goes to Princess.  

Food is subjective but I have to go with Princess for us.  

The stemware / glass wear goes to Celebrity.  
The captains circle happy hour goes to Celebrity.  

Entertainment venues goes to Celebrity. 
The larger staterooms with a seating area goes to Celebrity.

The stateroom bathrooms go to Celebrity. 
The non-smoking in the casino is a huge Celebrity win!  

Our bottom line is that we choose Princess almost exclusively now.  We would love for them to cut all indoor smoking areas .. that’s still a big sticking point for us.  But all in all, they have overtaken Celebrity as our favorite cruiseline.  
We love the inclusions on the Plus package on the Crown/Grand class ships and the Premier package on the Royal class ships.  

Just curious since you did a SBS, what Celebrity ship and what Princess ship.

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, doghog said:

Just curious since you did a SBS, what Celebrity ship and what Princess ship.

We were on the Solstice followed by the Discovery.  I know, one is older and one new but it was more than that.  We were just a little bored on Celebrity with no daytime activities to keep us occupied.  I must say, I think we really missed the Medallion and the app on Celebrity and the ability to get a snack in the middle of the day without going to the buffet or being in our cabin and paying a room service charge.  
Also, I think that Princess handled the embarkation and immigration processes better.  But, I am well aware that those things can be handled differently week by week depending on circumstances.  
 

[HotRoot]

2 hours ago, reedprincess said:

Correct. No indoor smoking on any ship sailing out of Australia/NZ.   Casino, etc will be all smoke free.  

Currently on the Majestic Princess.  She has been in Australia/NZ for months (maybe 6) with no smoking in the casino.  Current cruise has no smoking in the casino.  The casino stinks like smoke.  I assume the smell is in the carpet, drapes, and chairs.  Probably also craps and black jack tables.   

[Retired-N-Happy]

On 4/30/2024 at 8:42 PM, cheeseheads4ever said:

Anything that Princess has that Celebrity doesn’t.

One, better drink package.  Two, a more inclusive package.  The basic drink package on Princess covers up to 15.00 per drink versus 10.00 per drink on Celebrity.  Because of this difference, the disparity in the quality of drinks is mind boggling.  On Celebrity you can get basic rum/coke or a screwdriver with Absolute, not even Tito's.  On Princess you can get an espresso martini or any of the craft cocktails at Good Spirits at Sea.

The gratuities are included in the Plus and Premier packages on Princess while the gratuities are no longer included on X and become an additional expense.  I've cruised on Celebrity 9 times on four different classes of ships, including 5 on the Edge Class.  Have cruised on Princess four times all on the Royal Class. 

Because of the great value I think that Princess now has, I currently have 11/15 future cruises booked on them and unfortunately X is now in our rear view mirror.

Edited May 2 by Retired-N-Happy

[Retired-N-Happy]

On 4/30/2024 at 9:41 PM, disgirl said:

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.

When's the last time you consumed 15 drinks on Princess?

[reedprincess]

28 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

When's the last time you consumed 15 drinks on Princess?

Is that the point though?

 

At least Celebrity treats their guests like adults when it comes to their beverage packages whereas Princess (Carnival Corp actually, given several of their brands have the same limit) thinks we need some type of imposed limit.  Go figure. 

[Retired-N-Happy]

9 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

Is that the point though?

 

At least Celebrity treats their guests like adults when it comes to their beverage packages whereas Princess (Carnival Corp actually, given several of their brands have the same limit) thinks we need some type of imposed limit.  Go figure. 

Let's be real here.  Unless you're a 20 something heavy beer drinker, not many people can drink 15 alcoholic drinks per day.  And I'll take Princess's basic drink package that tops out at 15.00 and 15 drinks over Celebrity's drink package at 10.00 and unlimited drinks.  On Celebrity you need to consume more because the package doesn't include any good liquors let alone a craft cocktail. And if you want to upgrade to the Deluxe premium package it's 48.00 per day to do it based on 20 pp plus 20% gratuity.

[jlawrence01]

On 4/30/2024 at 5:42 PM, cheeseheads4ever said:

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..

 

One of the problems that I have in comparing Celebrity with other cruise lines is that it is HIGHLY dependent on the ship.  One of my friends does a YouTube channel on food just showing all of the food options with limited commentary.  They did a cruise on the Apex and one on the Millennium.  There were dozens of different options available on the Apex that simply were NOT available on the older ship.

 

Let's start with food.  Both have very creative MDR menus and generally the food is very good.  Celebrity has a few more upscale options in the MDR.  My major complaint with Celebrity is that there are also ways a couple of technical issues with the food that could have been resolved had a chef actually tasted the food.  Risotto is served that is really not even el dente and  lentils were also undercooked to the point they were inedible.  I saw fewer issues with Princess but the quality of any beef steak product in the MDR was mediocre.  

 

The buffet was more varied on the Regal Princess than the Millennium but bother were very good.

 

We liked the entertainment on both ships a lot.  However, the lighting and sound in the main theatre on the Millennium is primitive  The performers deserved better.  The enrichment talks on Princess were the best that we experienced.  Also, the port talks on Princess covered EVERYTHING  that was available at the port including THIRD PARTY excursions and off the beaten track shopping opportunities as opposed to the usual ones.

 

In terms of service, Celebrity wins hands down.  I have never seen a team of servers in the MDR work seamlessly to provide excellent service all six nights like I saw on the Millennium.  They anticipated every need and after the second night were bringing out beverages before they were requested.  Princess was professional and did well but they did not engage as well.

 

Both of our cruises were in 2023.  It seemed like nearly all of the Celebrity staff were very experienced.  The Princess staff was doing a decent job but you could tell that about 25% of the staff was on their first contract and some were having difficulties.  I think that Princess was hit harder with COVID and they lost a lot of staff who decided not to return.  I have heard rumblings from some of my Filipino friends who did not feel like they were treated right after the outbreaks and don't want to return.

 

I do not feel like Celebrity or Princess push shopping and other services to the extent that you experience on NCL or RCCL where it is a constant.

 

I agree with some of the other posters that the itineraries on Princess (and HAL) are far more interesting than you will find on Celebrity which tends to focus on shorter cruises.  In addition, I find a lot more value on Princess (and HAL) than on Celebrity.

 

For the record, I have two cruises booked on Celebrity and a 14 day on HAL this year.  And we are looking at a Princess Cruise in the 2nd quarter next year.

[Honolulu Blue]

6 hours ago, reedprincess said:

Princess (Carnival Corp actually, given several of their brands have the same limit) thinks we need some type of imposed limit.  Go figure. 

Actually I think their limit is meant mostly to send signals to two groups of people.

 

To law enforcement, judicial, and governmental authorities, it says, "see, we TRY to limit our passengers' drinking to reasonable levels."

 

To those who regularly imbibe more than the limit per day, it says, "You're potentially more trouble than you're worth.  You should probably pick another cruise line."

 

Whether Carnival Corp accomplishes their missions is a discussion for another place and time.

 

JMHO.  I'm out.  Please continue your discussion. 👍

[swjumbo]

10 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

When's the last time you consumed 15 drinks on Princess?

Erm…. last few weeks….many times!!!

[deultgen]

On 4/30/2024 at 6:42 PM, cheeseheads4ever said:

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..

 

We have been on both lines many times.  In general we like them both and always enjoy our travels.  We prefer Celebrity but Princess regularly has deals that are too good to pass up.

 

Food:  If you enjoy the food in the Main Dining Room on Celebrity, you will likely enjoy the MDR on Princess as well.  Outdoor pizza by the pool is better on Princess, burgers better on Celebrity.  The International Cafe on most Princess ships is outstanding.  There is nothing really like it on Celebrity.  

 

Drinks:  The packages on Princess are better for us since they include wifi and gratuities.   I like the feel of the bars on most Celebrity ships, but a good Manhattan is a good Manhattan.

 

Entertainment and service seem about the same to me.  

 

Room - I believe the standard balcony room on each is about the same size.  I find the room seems larger on Celebrity with a couch in the room standard.  There is much more storage on a Princess ship (both closet and storage area).

[disgirl]

11 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

When's the last time you consumed 15 drinks on Princess?

 

The OP said they like drink packages.  I believe that is a big note to point out a difference between the 2 lines.  It isnt hard to do....

 

Based on a Sea day - 

Wake up and get a baileys and coffee (maybe 2) from the coffee bar

Have a mimosa at breakfast (or bloody mary if you like those)

10am - pool (or wherever you are)  beer or beverage

11am - pool (or wherever you are)  beer or beverage

1230pm - 1 or 2 with lunch

2pm - pool (or wherever you are)  beer or beverage

3pm - pool (or wherever you are)  beer or beverage

A pre dinner drink in the Piazza or Vines

630pm - 1 or 2 with supper

That is going to leave you 4-5 to have at the disco over the course of the evening or at the casino or in the theater while watching the show, or at the piano bar, or wherever you are.

 

😄

[disgirl]

1 hour ago, swjumbo said:

Erm…. last few weeks….many times!!!

 

Glad we arent the only ones!  We joke 15-18 by noon!  haha

[swjumbo]

We have very similar habits to you.

Never drunk nor abusive but do enjoy champagne in the morning with breakfast, mid morning and before luncheon.

No problem whatsoever getting champagne on the Celebrity drinks package but not so easy with Princess.

Again, each to their own!

[Esprit]

1 hour ago, disgirl said:

 

The OP said they like drink packages.  I believe that is a big note to point out a difference between the 2 lines.  It isnt hard to do....

 

Based on a Sea day - 

Wake up and get a baileys and coffee (maybe 2) from the coffee bar

Have a mimosa at breakfast (or bloody mary if you like those)

10am - pool (or wherever you are)  beer or beverage

11am - pool (or wherever you are)  beer or beverage

1230pm - 1 or 2 with lunch

2pm - pool (or wherever you are)  beer or beverage

3pm - pool (or wherever you are)  beer or beverage

A pre dinner drink in the Piazza or Vines

630pm - 1 or 2 with supper

That is going to leave you 4-5 to have at the disco over the course of the evening or at the casino or in the theater while watching the show, or at the piano bar, or wherever you are.

 

😄

That's me too! But more glasses of wine with dinner for sure.