Why Should Devoted Celebrity Cruiser Try Princess?

[Robrph]

Having tried Celebrity, NCL, Carnival and RCL, and preferring Celebrity to all the rest, we are contemplating our first Princess cruise on the Golden in December. The price can't be beat for a balcony (our first) and we like the itinerary. Can we expect much of the same that we like so much about Celebrity- i.e. service, food and just plain "classy" feel of the whole cruise experience? The ship is HUGE in comparison to the Summit we've cruised on- how can they maintain service with over 2800 passengers? Your input is appreciated.

 

Rob

[Annecj]

We just came off the Star Princess from a 14 day back to back cruise. Like you our favorite line is Celebrity (with Princess in as a close second) and our last five cruises have been with them. The Star is in the same class as the Golden and I too was afraid of overcrowding. Let me say this cruise far exceeded our expectations. The staff is the friendliest I've had on any ship and ever so helpful.. The entertainment was very good and you will find music of all types throughout the ship. Never did we feel overcrowed whether it was in the buffet, lounges, theater or tendering. Princess knows how to move people. You will not have the welcome drink and escort to the cabin, pitchers of water in your cabin and a few other extras which I can live without. Announcements were at a minimum and not heard in the cabin unless you were tuned into a certain station on the TV. I'm sure you will enjoy your cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed ours and will definately sail with Princess again.

[catmand]

Since we sail both lines, I read both boards. I responded to your question on Celebrity but here I can write about some of the objective differences for Princess, some of these may or may not be important to you. By the way, for what it's worth, we feel service and food quality is about equal. Princess has:

Fresh water pools and hot tubs open 24/7

Several lounges/theaters that offer different entertainment options in the evening

First run FREE movies shown in room, also several informative 24 hour entertainment stations like the Top AFI 100 films, actors etc. also Travel Channel.

24/7 buffet

Self service laundry rooms with washer/dryer/irons and boards

Ooops, time for CSI

[Coral]

If you like the size of the Summit - you may want to look at the Coral/Island Princess. They run about 90,000 tonns and IMO - is the best ships Princess has.

 

I have found the staff friendlier and more likely to interact with you on Princess. They are not as standoffish as they are on Celebrity.

 

You will find that it is less expensive to sail on Princess. Drink specials, transfers, excursions, soda card, etc. . all cost less on Princess compared to Celebrity.

 

While the buffet is not as laid out as well on Princess (compared to Celebrity), it is a 24 hour buffet with real food at all times (not strange finger sandwiches in the afternoon).

 

I do have to commend Celebrity for their gorgeous dining room on the Millie class. The dining rooms on Princess have low ceilings to give you a more intimate feel. The view is not quite the same.

 

Make sure you ask for robes on Princess - even inside cabins can get them.

 

Enjoy your first Princess cruise!

[DeltaOne]

Having tried Celebrity, NCL, Carnival and RCL, and preferring Celebrity to all the rest, we are contemplating our first Princess cruise on the Golden in December.

 

We've done 3 Celebrity and one Princess. The products are very close. Reasons to try Princess:

 

1) Celebrity's pricing is higher

2) Anytime Dining on Princess

3) Fresh water pools on Princess

4) Drinks are cheaper on Princess

[Robrph]

Thanks for all our comments. You know, it's funny- I posted this same question on the Celebrity board and received so many negative comments about Princess. Go figure :)

 

If we can arrange the time, we're leaning toward trying Princess this time. Thaks again for your input.

[argosy]

I'm not surprised at the responses on Celebrity board.

 

The main difference between this board and that one is that over here, the two lines are compared favorably to each other. Most Princess cruise critic people who've done both will readily say that Celebrity is a good cruise line and that you should definitely check it out; that both are great vacation options.

 

Over there, the Celebrity cruise critic folk seem to take a special joy in crucifying all other cruise lines. I find it very weird.

 

I've sailed both Celebrity and Princess, and find them almost equal...and I have to say that the message board folks over there almost swing the balance for me; putting a bad taste in my mouth for Celebrity. Why would I want to get on a ship full of such bitter folk? However, since I know the board people are only a small percentage of the general public...I would still go on Celebrity if the price and itinerary were what I wanted.

[Druke I]

Many times on Princess, once on Celebrity's Mercury.

 

We enjoyed our one trip with Celebrity - they seem to have a good product.

 

Princess gets the bulk of our business, primarily because of the great variety of itineraries, and price!

[mr green]

After twelve cruises I was looking forward to my first trip on Celebrities' Mercury. Sadly, I found the ship overated to the extreme. Customer relations very poor, food and entertainment, so so. Ship badly laid out, While it did have a few good points, [stores]. I found the ship run down, with little 'get up and go'. I even turned down putting in an entry for a free cruise!

Princess is not perfect, but I always found the crew to be both friendly and helpful at all times.

Had my trip on Mercury been my first cruise, I don't believe that I would try cruising again! john

[TwoCruisers]

I have sailed on Celebrity and Princess five times each. I love both cruise lines, but I must say that Princess has more and better itineraries. I like to switch around and not always have the same thing. It’s like not wanting to eat Prime Rib every night. Some nights I like lobster.

[wtevrfltsurbt]

That is so true! I thought it was just me getting the feeling from the "X" boards!:eek: Celebrity is no better than any other line with regard to service. There may be a few touches here and there that they do that are unique but overall I find them equal. Besides! The folks on the boards here are much nicer!:p

I'm not surprised at the responses on Celebrity board.

 

The main difference between this board and that one is that over here, the two lines are compared favorably to each other. Most Princess cruise critic people who've done both will readily say that Celebrity is a good cruise line and that you should definitely check it out; that both are great vacation options.

 

Over there, the Celebrity cruise critic folk seem to take a special joy in crucifying all other cruise lines. I find it very weird.

 

I've sailed both Celebrity and Princess, and find them almost equal...and I have to say that the message board folks over there almost swing the balance for me; putting a bad taste in my mouth for Celebrity. Why would I want to get on a ship full of such bitter folk? However, since I know the board people are only a small percentage of the general public...I would still go on Celebrity if the price and itinerary were what I wanted.

[wtevrfltsurbt]

And don't EVEN get me started about the price differences!

[geoherb]

I also frequent both boards and also answered on the Celebrity board. The people on the Princess board seem to be friendlier.

 

Both cruise lines are great. Each one does some things a little better than the other. I'll look at both when planning our next cruise. We'll go with whichever has the best itinerary and price for our vacation dates.

[m steve]

I found both Celebrity ships had a quiet place to have cocktails w/wo piano. None on Princess. Coffee was much better on Celebrity. Shows definately better. Beef dishes in dining room better, properly cooked to order and better quality meat. I liked the Concierge class on Celebrity. Cost seemed about the same.

Side cabins on both had small balconies. Buffets were similar. Drinks were cheaper on Princess but shorter pours. Cabin staff about equal, dining room staff better trained. I'm booked next on HAL next and Princess for Aus/NZ in Feb.

Overall I don't think that there is much difference between the lines and similar size ships. The itineraries dictate the selection more than the brand or ship.:cool:

[minke]

Don't get me started on prices either! We from UK are fed up with being ripped off. Princess in general is much more expensive than Celebrity for us & Princess refuse to let anyone with out a USA address book with a USA TA--why? because we are cash cows for them! Have just come off our sixth Celeb cruise & have booked our first (& more expensive) Princess cruise for october (itinerary was right) so will watch this debate with interest!

[wtevrfltsurbt]

Wow really?

 

Maybe it does have something to do with having to book outside the U.S. because every Celebrity cruise I have looked at and compared to the same time/itinerary with Princess has been considerably higher than Princess! The one I am currently booked for (Hawaii 2006) is $3,000.00 more if I go with Celebrity:eek: . I like Celebrity, but not 3 grand more than Princess! LOL

 

Don't get me started on prices either! We from UK are fed up with being ripped off. Princess in general is much more expensive than Celebrity for us & Princess refuse to let anyone with out a USA address book with a USA TA--why? because we are cash cows for them! Have just come off our sixth Celeb cruise & have booked our first (& more expensive) Princess cruise for october (itinerary was right) so will watch this debate with interest!

[CroozBlooz]

I've been on both, and found prices generally to be comparable. We only book balconies or mini-suites, so I can't speak to whether or not lower category cabins are cheaper on Princess.

 

All things considered, I would give Celebrity the nod, even though I've been on more cruises with Princess (primarily because we enjoy new ships and we like anytime dining.

 

Celebrity is somewhat classier. The buffet quality is much better, and they carry your trays (complete with linen) to your table from the buffet.

[CruisingChick]

Do they have a "martini bars" on the Princess ships like the Celebrity ships have?

 

I think I would die without one of those special martinis while on a cruise. Okay I wouldn't die, but I would miss them before dinner.

 

We too are seriously thinking of doing a Princess cruise next Summer 2006. Their brand new ship will be doing 9 Night Eastern/Western Caribbean cruises out of NYC. I told my dh we should book b2b and spend 18 nights on the ship. He thought it would be a little too much.

 

The only thing I don't like is the Princess web-site doesn't give you any pricing.

 

Thanks.

 

Anne Maria

[CarolN]

We had sailed on Princess 5 times (others were RCI, NCL, HAL, etc.) and Princess was our favorite line. We then decided to try Celebity on an 11 night cruise a couple of years ago. While the cruise was nice and the food was good, we much prefer Princess. The atmosphere on X was way too laid back, the staff had a stuffy and uppity attitude and there seemed to be a lack of entertainment venues and not very much variety.

 

We chose and prefer Princess because of the following:

 

1. pools and hot tubs open 24/7 (fresh water)

2. food available 24/7 in Horizen Court (Grand Class ships)

3. friendlier staff and service personnel

4. Cabin more efficiently laid out (and larger) on Princess for a similar cabin category. For example, we always get an outside w/balcony and sofabed. On X, when the sofa bed was opened, it totally blocked the balcony doors, thus making the balcony useless.

5. more dining options

6. better entertainment and multiple choices on any given evening

7. passenger laundry facilities

 

As far as #4 regarding the cabin, I wrote to Celebrity about this and they never responded. I was dissatisfied that I paid for a balcony and could not use it whenever the sofabed was opened especially for early morning coffee. Others on our cruise were unhappy with this as well. It is just a matter of poor design.

 

This is just my opinion. I would chose Princess over Celebrity in a heartbeat. We are already booked on the Crown next summer and are considering the Star Princess in November.

[sammiedawg]

The Princess ships are much nicer and in much much better physical condition.

[nicknack]

I'm amazed as to how many people paid so little attention to the most important difference in my opinion: Personal Choice Dining. Eat when you want and with who you want or by yourselves!

[coiran]

We have never sailed Celebrity but, if you are happy with Celebrity - stick with them - we have never had a bad experience with Princess so we have never wandered - "If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It"

 

Ron

[Robrph]

As I mentioned earlier, I posted this question of both the Celebrity and Princess boards. Tonight someone on the Celebrity board asked:"Why doesn't the OP post the same question on the Princess board- the answers might be interesting". Here is my response:

 

As I mentioned earlier, I HAVE posted this question on both the Celebrity and Princess boards with decidedly different responses. On the Celebrity board, most people are adamant about Celebrity's superiority, and as you have read, sometimes trashing Princess. On the Princess board, the attitude is mostly very different. Most responders on that board feel the two lines are prettyy much equal, Celebrity leading in service and food, with Princess sometimes having better itineraries and cheaper prices. I must say the Celebrity people who have responded so far have been mostly very loyal to Celebrity, while the Princess people, for the most part, will choose either line depending on their situation.

 

That being said, as a long-time Celebrity cruiser, I have tonight booked the Golden Princess for its Southern Caribbean route in December. We really like the itinerary with places we haven't visited(Grenada and Caracas), ports we loved before(Aruba and St Kitts) and St. Thomas, that we've missed for awhile. The fare was excellent and we've secured a balcony, a first for us. We're a little intimidated by the size of the ship, but I'm sure we'll get used to it quickly.

 

Thanks so much for everyone's responses. It's been fun reading them on BOTH boards!

 

Rob

[TorontoTL]

I read both boards, but mostly read and post on the Princess boards. I've only cruised with Princess and not yet with Celebrity. I have to agree with the OP that the Celebrity boards are inhabited by people who are very loyal to Celebrity. They do tend to trash other lines more than what I've read on other boards. I wonder why they're so loyal though....is Celebrity that much better than other cruise lines? I keep thinking I should try Celebrity out, but each time I go to book a cruise, I keep booking with Princess. Usually I have found that Celebrity prices are more than Princess' for similar intineraries. Also a friend of mine did book a Celebrity cruise and was very excited about trying them out. He booked onboard the Century for the Caribbean for a cruise this month. About a month after booking it Celebrity decided to pull the ship out of the Caribean for the summer and send her to Europe. He has had a very difficult time getting his money back on the cancelled cruise. In addition he wasn't happy with the offer that they made him for rebooking. Thus far he has not yet rebooked with Celebrity because of the customer service. I will eventually try Celebrity, but there will have to be a good itinerary at a resonable price and one of their newer ships first before I book.

[cruzzers]

We recently sailed on the Sun Princess and met up with some CC friends that love Celebrity. We have never been able to match the itinerary or price of Princess with any other line, so we stick with Princess. We are scheduled for the Sea Princess departing Ft. Lauderdale on 2/25/06 for a 14 day Caribbean sailing and can't wait! Hope to see some of you there....