Celebrity or Princess?

Hi

Only been on one cruise so far (P & O) and looking to do a trip from Australia around New Zealand in 202 when my husband retires. Plan is to moves around Australia for 4 weeks then a cruise to end it off. Looking at both Celebrity and Princess cruise lines and wondered what opinions people have around each.

Any suggestions welcome please???

Kat

Hi

 

Only been on one cruise so far (P & O) and looking to do a trip from Australia around New Zealand in 202 when my husband retires. Plan is to moves around Australia for 4 weeks then a cruise to end it off. Looking at both Celebrity and Princess cruise lines and wondered what opinions people have around each.

 

Any suggestions welcome please???

 

Kat

I’m happy with either of those.

Mainly sail Princess as they do round trips out of Sydney whereas Celebrity tend to offer more one way trips between Sydney and Auckland, and Mrs Gut isn’t permitted to fly.

Princess tend to an older demographic than Celebrity, not by a lot.

Celebrity charge in US$ Princess in Aus$.

I’d look at Flying into Auckland, spend a week in NZ, do a cruise to Sydney, keep an eye out for one of the ones that include Melbourne and Hobart. Then spend a few weeks in Australia. Or the reverse of course.

Thanks for kicking it off.

The P & O cruise we were on was an average age of 69 (that was the official age not our guess!). What is your take on these ships? Also as we will be travelling from Edinburgh to Australia we are limited with luggage and wondered about the formal nights? Seems Celebrity are a bit more laid back?

Did look at the cruise you mentioned :D:D:D

Thanks for kicking it off.

 

The P & O cruise we were on was an average age of 69 (that was the official age not our guess!). What is your take on these ships? Also as we will be travelling from Edinburgh to Australia we are limited with luggage and wondered about the formal nights? Seems Celebrity are a bit more laid back?

 

Did look at the cruise you mentioned :D:D:D

I now assume you are talking P&O UK not the Aus variety, which I hadn’t picked up first post I’m sorry, so my age comments may not count for as much.

Princess would probably on that cruise be a similar age, celebrity a bit younger, guess work ave around 60.

Technically Celebrity have a Elegant Chic (I think that’s the name) which is less formal that Princess, but you’d get away with the same on either line. As a bloke i take a suit sometimes even a Tux, but plenty just go with trousers, shirt and maybe a tie on formal nights.

We are mid to late 50s and even now tend to be among the younger set on Princess but more average age on Celebrity.

Make sure you are aware of just how big Australia is, many people plan to come here and do totally unrealistic travel.

One sug

We've sailed a lot with both Celebrity and Princess. We love Celebrity but have only sailed with them outside Australia. We have sailed out of Sydney on Princess a few times and found the experience underwhelming so much so that we'll never sail with Princess again.

Did a Sydney to nz round-trip on celebrity solstice earlier this year and the whole experience was 1St class.imo, celebrity is slightly better than princess.

We've cruised on both. We prefer Princess by a slight margin but, in reality, the two lines are very similar.

We haven't done an NZ cruise on Princess, we've done those on Celebrity, so I'm not sure how the Princess demographic stacks up against Celebrity on those cruises. Celebrity typically has a wide range of people from all over the world. This may be true on Princess as well as NZ cruises are so popular with visitors to this part of the world. Age-wise the demographic is about the same, many retired folk and some younger ones as well.

I've never noticed any difference in the way people dress on formal/elegant chic nights on both lines. Some people love to dress up to the nines in full formal wear, some people wear evening separates / jacket and/or a tie. Some people just stick to smart casual.

The food is good on both lines, some cruises are slightly better than others (I think the executive chef who is onboard at the time makes a difference), and personally I think Princess does escargot better.

I think Princess has better entertainment or, rather, has entertainment that suits our tastes.

Celebrity cabins and balconies are slightly nicer than Princess but not as quiet. I've heard TVs and voices from neighbouring cabins on Celebrity but never on Princess. I prefer the decor in the public areas on Princess - warm tones versus cool tones.

We do love the Sky Lounge on Celebrity Solstice, especially when leaving the various ports. Great views. That's one of the reasons we cruise on Celebrity for our NZ cruises.

What time of year are you planning to travel here? If it's before Christmas then do Australia first then cruise and, if possible, spend some time in NZ after the cruise. If it's after Christmas then do NZ first. March is the best time of year for NZ but the central and northern parts of Australia can still be very hot in February/March so land travel in Australia is better late March/April.

Our feelings are similar to some other posts. While three are pros and cons to each line they are close to being equal overall. In this situation we would probably look closely at the itineraries (and times in each port) as well as the price.

Hank

We did two cruises in Australia. A Princess cruise and an RCI cruise.

One difference was the on board currency. Princess used AUD, RCI used USA. Plus, RCI drinks were more expensive. Essentially all extra costs on RCI were 30-35 percent more expensive on RCI. Not sure what Celebrity uses for on board currency.

One (RCI) left from downtown, the Princess departed from Whites Bay.

We did two cruises in Australia. A Princess cruise and an RCI cruise.

 

One difference was the on board currency. Princess used AUD, RCI used USA. Plus, RCI drinks were more expensive. Essentially all extra costs on RCI were 30-35 percent more expensive on RCI. Not sure what Celebrity uses for on board currency.

 

One (RCI) left from downtown, the Princess departed from Whites Bay.

Celebrity uses US$.

Some Princess ships use White Bay, others use the OPT at the Rocks, some ships can’t get to White Bay as they are too high to go under The Bridge.

Another factor to consider, especially when travelling for several weeks, is that Princess has laundrettes ($3 wash, $3 dry, $1.50 detergent or bring your own). If you want laundry done on Celebrity you pay by the piece, and I haven't seen bag specials on the Aus/NZ itineraries.